Bloody Vengence
by DJ Shifty
Summary: One will die every week. Rated M for gore, swearing, and possible sexual references. Chapter 31, The Lone Officer, now up.
1. Prolugue

I love survival horror stories. They're just so awesome. Why not make my own?

_Because you're too busy watching Lost?_

Rhetorical question, dumbass. As the preview said, this can contain OCs, but be warned: There is an extremely strong chance your OC will die in a horrible, horrible, yet slightly amusing, death. This is kind've like _Harper's Island_, if you've never seen it, good for you. Fuckload of death. Just what I like.

The prologue takes place ten years ago. I couldn't say much in the summary without giving away major plotlines.

_Get on with it._

First, disclaimer time!

DISCLAIMER: I own nussing… NUSSING!

Thank you, DJ. On with the story!

* * *

_Prologue…_

_9__th__ February, 2000._

Ah, what fun. Nothing gets the blood pumping quite like hunting. For both the hunter and the hunted. God, it can be just the thing that keeps you alive.

Take this year's batch, for example. Small this time, mostly just drunken friends out partying. So drunk they didn't see my axe fly towards them until it was lodged right between their fucking eyes. Kids today.

But there's always a smart one in the group. One who realises that there is no hope, and I will give no mercy. That one I usually save for last, just because the extra terror of them knowing what's about to happen… And can do nothing to stop it.

This year's smart one nearly got away. The crafty bitch tried the old 'throw the rock in the other direction' trick, trying to trick me. I tricked her, though. Called her on her mobile phone. Listened for the ring tone. Ah, she thought she could hide in the bushes. The innocent are most amusing.

Oh, I didn't kill her straight away, no. First I chopped off her legs, then let her crawl for a while. Then I chopped off her arms, and forced her to watch me while I ate them in front of her. The bitch was screaming bloody murder, which only increased my bloodlust.

Then I heard police sirens. Confusion, I know. I blocked all calls out of the area, yet somehow she still called the police. I'm not sure how. She won't be telling me for sure. Can't say much if she had her tongue cut off, right? Oh, yeah, she died. But the police pigs were closing in. Alas, I had to hide. How long this time? Perhaps 5 years would be enough to forget all the murder…

… Then again, I have been killing for well over 20 years…

… Perhaps a decade would be better. Yes. Sure, by then all the blood will be forgotten, and I can have a new batch of victims, just begging for me to kill them quickly.

... But I won't. I'll enjoy their screams of pain, their cries of anguish…

… That reminds me, I need a new trophy room… This one's nearly full. I guess taking something from each victim wasn't such a great idea. 'specially if you do it for several decades…

… Then again, I need something to remember them. What's the use of killing if you can't go over the memories, re-living each to your heart's content? I'll give it a rest for now, the 'beast shall slumber' until further notice.

And when I awake, I am going to enjoy every blood-drenched second.

-----------------

Yep. Very nice, if I may say so myself.

_Moron._

Douche. Review if you want to, and if you DO want your OC in the story, for fuck's sake say so in the review, or at least Private Message me. You know, whatever floats your boat.

~ DJ.

_One will die every week…_


	2. Departure

Thank you all those who let me use their OCs… Knowing that they will probably die horribly. THANKS!

I now properly present to you… Chapter 1 of Bloody Vengeance! Starring…

The usual gang;  
- Cuddles  
- Giggles  
- Lumpy  
- Toothy  
- Flippy  
- Flaky  
- Petunia  
- Shifty  
- Lifty  
- Sniffles  
- Nutty  
- Handy  
- Disco Bear  
- The Mole  
- Mime  
- Pop  
- Cub  
- Splendid  
- Russell  
- Cro-Marmot

And the OCs along for the ride:  
- Sparky (FlakyFan55)  
- Scott Winters (Boulder the Dragon)  
- Pike (Arrow363)  
- Drifty (Arrow363)  
- Fritz (Deadliving)  
- Sikks (Ragerthewarvet)  
- Fluffee (Schadinn)  
- Spades (Hankforthewin)  
- CrayZee (Lacheetara)  
- Niki (Lacheetara)  
- DJ (DJ Shifty)

On with the story!

* * *

February 14th, 2010.

The passengers of the good ship _Erutort _chatted excitedly amongst themselves. In an effort to reduce stress and create more friendships in the town, and because it was Valentine's Day, Flippy had called in a few favours… Namely, a cruise ship so him and his friends/lovers could go on holiday.

"Three cheers for Flippy!" Cuddles cried happily.

"Hip hip, HOORAY! Hip hip, HOORAY! Hip hip, HOORAY!" The crowd shouted in unison. Flippy smiled, and looked across the ball room, where everyone he had invited was here.

Along with the usual gang, Flippy had branched out and invited some of the other townsfolk. Ones that he really didn't know… Unless he killed them during one of his flip-outs.

Looking around, Flippy could see most of the new arrivals. Sparky, a yellow rabbit with freaky electrical powers, was giving Sniffles a Valentine's Day card… Man, Sniffles turned redder than Flaky.

Scott, a rocker-garbed fox, was joking around with Fluffee, a Siberian husky with a black hoodie jacket. Mostly laughing at Disco Bear's failing attempts to grab a girlfriend.

"Maybe someone should tell him that Disco isn't cool anymore…" Scott wondered aloud, as Disco attempted a split, but instead ripped his pants.

"Or tell him to wear underwear." Fluffee replied, shielding his eyes from Disco's accident.

Sikks, grey raccoon, was having slightly more luck with the ladies than Disco was. Where Disco tried the classic 'Disco-Dancing' Sikks sang flawlessly for the ladies. Although his choice of song mightn't been the best choice…

"I DON'T CARE WHA YOU THINK,  
AS LONG AS IT'S ABOUT ME…"

Needless to say, his plan failed, and Sikks spend the next 15 minutes pouting.

Spades, a grey-white fox with a great fedora, looked out the window, toward the open sea. Lost in his thoughts he was-

"Hiya Spades, what's up?"

-Interrupted by a grey wolf, Niki, bouncing up and down like Nutty on a sugar fix.

"Hey, Niki. So you got dragged onto this trip too, huh?"

"Dragged? Nope, I took the bus! I was jumping up and down all trip and the guy beside me asked me what I was on and I said I was on a little thing called happiness and told him he should try it sometime!"

Spades blinked twice, and wondered how it was physically possible for someone to say all that in one breath and still be jumping.

At a drinking bar, Drifty, a grey/white cat, drank heavily, often bursting into random stories about his adventures in 'Othertown', which apparently ceased to exist after Drifty shoved the entire town up their own assess.

Fritz, the green beaver who REALLY needed a makeover, decided now was a good time to challenge Drifty to a fight to the death for no particular reason. Drifty started to get up, and Fritz ran like hell.

Some weird zombie thing called CrayZee attacked one of the bathrooms with a chainsaw. No reason, the toilet just looked at her weird. At least, I think it's a her.

A white dog called Pike sat down on one of the sofa chairs. He was already regretting going on this trip. He could've stayed home and watched TV, but nooo... He got dragged here because apparently he spent too much time in his house. Aw, well. It could be worse. There could be some stupid blue moose around being a total idio…

Damnit.

And DJ, the grey white and slightly purple cat, sat on another chair, reading a book (_The Stand _– Stephen King) and tried to ignore the ocean water crashing against the side of the boat. He failed, and swore loudly at the water.

Flippy counted heads, and signalled to the captain, Captain Len Spidd, that he thought everyone was here. Close enough, anyway. Captain Len Spidd saluted his green friend, and reached for the lever to start the engines-

"Wait, where's Russell?" Flippy asked, carefully looking around the room.

"Call him on his phone." Toothy suggested. Flippy smiled, and did so.

------------------

Underneath the boat, tied somewhere near the bottom, was Russell. He was dazed and confused, a common side effect to being knocked out. Luckily he could breath underwater, being a sea otter and all, or else he would've drowned ages ago. Russell tried to swim away, but found he couldn't. He was tied to… Something. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and tried in vain to reach it.

------------------

"He's not answering his phone." Flippy remarked, holding his own cell up to his ear.

"Maybe he's sick." Handy suggested.

"OOH! Maybe he's stuck in the chimney! Like the Easter bunny!" Lumpy piped up. Everyone ignored the moose, due to the fact that he is a fucking moron.

"Flips, we going or what?" Captain Len Spidd asked impatiently. Flippy looked around him, and shrugged.

"Full speed ahead. It's Russell's fault if he misses this." Len Spidd smiled, and pushed forward on the throttle.

------------------

Russell looked behind himself. He could hear a soft 'whup, whup, whup,' slowly growing louder. If he squinted his eyes, he could just making the shape of a spinning propeller, slowly going faster and coming closer. The seriousness of the situation dawned on Russell, and he desperately tried to break free of the rope that was holding him steady…

His attempt was useless.

As the ship drifted steadily forwards, Russell screamed as he was sliced into pieces by the propeller, sending blood, bubbles, and pieces of ragged flesh floating up behind the boat. But no-one noticed it. They were too busy partying. And somewhere far away, a killer whistling the tune of 'Open Happiness' looked lovingly at Russell's bloodstained hook, kissed it once, then placed it on a shelf full of other 'trophies.' The killer took a look around his memories, and quickly exited.

Who shall be next?

* * *

**1****st**** Victim: Russell.**

**Cause of death: Ripped to shreds via boat propeller.**

There goes Russell. This chapter was mainly to introduce the OCs in the story. The OCs will play a bigger part in the later chapters. Thanks to all those who let me use them, and sorry if I didn't get their personality right.

And yeah, DJ will be a part of this story…

DJ: Woo!

… But he's still going to die.

DJ: Woo- Wait, what?!?

_Haha! You're going to get bloodily murdered!_

VERY special thanks to FlakyFan55, Boulder the Dragon, Arrow363, Deadliving, Ragerthewarvet, Schadinn, Hankforthewin, and Lacheetara. If I do somehow get your OC's personality wrong, please tell me and I'll try to fix it next chapter.

And try to guess who the killer is. You won't get it right, though. Review if you want to.

~ DJ.

_One will die every week…_


	3. Midnight Party

Author's notes: Arrow363: Only slightly. Russell's death is probably the only similarity you'll notice. Everything else is off the top of my head. My beautiful, crazy, head…

Deadliving: According to Google translate…  
_Finish the job, Waidmann! (If I could call him that) Wonderful praised you must have, and more you shall have!_

_Never break themselves rachen, injuring, tearing, Zerschmeissen, crushing, cerium picking, chopped up and steal, destroying, cerium burnings, Then running, and..._

_DIE!_

Thanks… I think…

Sandman78308: Thanks for submitting your OC, Crack (lovely name, by the way.) To be honest I don't know a lot about heavy metal, so what I put in his Ipod will just be wild guesses taken from Google or Youtube.

So thanks to the reviewers, and Sandman78308 (Crack) & DeepDarkDebt09 (Ruffy & Oscar) for letting me use/kill their OCs. Their trip will be slightly different from the others, read on and find out!

Disclaimer: First page, Jackass.

Bloody Vengeance Chapter 3 (Or technically Chapter 2, if you don't include the Prologue as a proper chapter) … Midnight Party.

Also, _Italics_ represent the killer's points of view.

* * *

_Feb. 15__th__, 11:98 pm._

Flippy yawned loudly, and checked his watch. Damn near midnight. Luckily, most of the guests were in bed, with only two or three still up. Flippy was one of them, of course. Captain Len Spidd was another, being the only person on the ship who could drive this heap of metal without killing everyone.

The last person up was Drifty, who was STILL at the bar having drink after drink. Flippy joined him at the bar, and grabbed a bottle of wine.

"Don't you think you've had enough, Drift?" Flippy casually enquired, checking the wine to see how old it was. Drifty swayed, and turned to Flippy. He saw approximately 7 Flippys, so he started yelling at the one on the far left.

"I'll tell YOU when I'VE had ENOUGH!" Drifty said, alternating between shouting and whispering. Flippy wondered why Drifty was yelling at a pot plant, then shrugged it off and walk away.

"You mind keeping an eye on him?" Flippy asked Len as he waltzed by. Len cast a quizzical glance at Drifty, who was now singing old sailor songs, and nodded.

"I shall guard him with my life!" Len mockingly saluted, and Flippy just shook his head and walked away.

* * *

As Flippy made his way to his bedroom, he stopped at some of the individual rooms to check on some of the passengers. Just to check up on them, of course.

He passed Room 1, which was his of course, and peeked into each room as he went past.

Room 2: Cuddle's room. Adult noises coming from shower. No need to investigate.  
Room 3: Giggle's room. Empty. Safe to say she was with Cuddles.  
Room 4: Toothy's room. Empty.  
Room 5: Shifty & Lifty's room. Empty.  
Room 6: Sniffle's room. Empty, although there was a lot of paper lying around.  
Room 7: Sparky's room. Bed seemed burnt. Probably from electricity. Noticeably empty.  
Room 8: Lumpy's room. Large amounts of water coming from bathroom.  
Room 9: Nutty's room. Floor covered with candy wrappers. Nutty nowhere to be seen.  
Room 10: Petunia's room. Unsurprisingly clean. Petunia in bed, sleeping.  
Room 11: Handy's room. Door stuck open. Handy was yelling at a pair of socks.  
Room 12: Russel's room. Empty.  
Room 13: CrayZee's room. Empty, but there was a lot of scratches on the walls.  
Room 14: Disco's room. Disco snoring, with a Playdude magazine in his hand.  
Room 15: Mime's room. Mime was also snoring. Except he didn't make any noise. Because he's a Mime.  
Room 16: Spade's room. Again, empty.  
Room 17: Niki's room. Bed unmade, comics strewn all over the floor, empty.  
Room 18: Pop & Cub's room. Pop was sleeping. Cub was playing with scissors.  
Room 19: Pike's room. Complicated diagrams taped on walls. Empty.  
Room 20: Fritz's room. Empty.  
Room 21: Mole's room. Mole slept on a table, perhaps thinking it was the bed.  
Room 22: Sikk's room. Magazine on 'How to Woo 'em' on bed. Empty.  
Room 23: DJ's room. Copy of Stephen King's _Cell_ lying on the floor. Empty.  
Room 24: Cro-Marmot's room. Freezing cold. Empty.  
Room 25: Fluffee's room. Empty.  
Room 26: Captain Len Spidd's room. Empty.

It occurred to Flippy that most of the rooms were empty. Meh. Probably partying at the pool. Flippy shrugged and walked back to his room, where no doubt Flaky was waiting.

He just couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched.

* * *

"CANNONBALLLLLL!" Fluffee yelled as he dove into the pool. Everyone laughed as they were splashed with water. Except for DJ, who had brought an umbrella.

"You call that a cannonball? I'll show you a cannonball!" Sikks yelled after Fluffee had plunged into the pool. He took a run up, slipped, and simply slid into the pool with all the grace of a constipated elephant in a tutu dancing to rap music.

Which is to say not very graceful.

Sikks slid past Nutty and Sniffles, who were having a splashing contest. Predictably, Nutty splashed with too much energy, and caused a miniature tidal wave. The wave picked the startled Sniffles up tossed him towards the resting area.

Pike stopped daydreaming long enough to glance up and see a blue anteater come screaming towards him. He did what any rational thinking person would do.

He held up an umbrella and made Sniffles bounce back where he came from.

Satisfied that he had successfully averted the crisis, Pike went back to daydreaming.

While Sniffles landed back in the pool with a large splash, Fritz, CrayZee and Toothy all had an underwater breath holding contest. Toothy lost after Fritz poked him in the ribs, causing him to giggle like a school girl. Fritz tried to do the same thing to CrayZee, but she/he bit his hand. Hard.

Whilst Fritz jumped out of the pool babbling like a school girl with a large zombie thing clamped on his hand, Niki, Sparky, Lifty & Shifty spoke in whispers, obviously planning something of great mischief. While everyone was laughing at each other, the kleptomaniac brothers swiped DJ's umbrella. As DJ turned to grab it, Niki grabbed his arms and Sparky grabbed his legs, and they carried him over to the pool.

"Fucking let me go! Godamnit! It's not bloody funny!" DJ yelled as they heaved him towards the pool. Niki & Sparky exchanged glances, and laughed like hell. On the contrary to what DJ was saying, this was fucking hilarious. They counted to three, and threw the pleading DJ into the pool.

"Motherfu-" DJ yelped as he went underwater. He surfaced, and comically spat out some water out as his goggles floated by. DJ grabbed his goggles and crawled out of the pool, searching for a towel.

"Great, my hair's fucking ruined. Bloody hell…" DJ muttered as he pushed past Spades, who had just arrived.

"Did I miss something?" Spades wondered aloud.

* * *

Meanwhile, below deck, in the ships engine room.

_Boy, this one was a sure tough one. How do you kill someone that's been encased in ice for the past, I dunno, million years? More importantly, what can you get as a trophy?_

_Luckily, I had thought ahead. This frozen caveman offered little resistance, which was good, considering the fact that if I was suddenly knocked out by a large block of ice, I probably would've handed myself in to a mental institution._

_Joking, of course._

_So while I pushed the caveman down towards the engines, I wondered about the rest of them. Last count, there was 28 possible victims. Soon to be 27, after I melt this fat Neanderthal to nothingness._

_Opened up the door to the engine room, and there was my goal: The large coal burning engine which powered the ship. I smiled a hearty smile, and pushed the caveman closer to his death. If the caveman's face wasn't covered, I'm sure his eyes would be darting around with fear._

_So I pushed the heavy block of ice up the ramp leading into the boiler, or engine, or whatever the hell it's called. I swear, the frozen fat boy made a whimpering sound as I pushed him into the flames._

_I shut the door behind caveman, and watched through the peephole as the fire slowly melted the ice, then melted his skin. He made several guttural sounds from his throat as he burned, but the years of being frozen had severely hurt his ability to talk. So I watched in quiet lustiness as ice man slowly burned down to nothingness._

_Then I went back up deck and mingled with the rest of the guests._

* * *

Yes! I discovered a way to kill Cro-Marmot!

Also, to anyone wondering, I'm using the Flippy/Flaky and Cuddles/Giggles pairings because they are the most common ones, and since this story did start on Valentine's Day, so, well, connect the dots. I've also added some slight Sparky/Sniffles, because that's what Sparky's profile said. Also,-

DJ: You wet me! I can't believe you fucking wet me!

Sacrifices must be made, little dude.

DJ: Then why not sacrifice the Mole to the bloody sun god or something?!? You ruined my sodding hair!

Next chapter will feature Crack (Sandman78308) Ruffy and Oscar (DeepDarkDebt09) and any other OCs who wish to enter. But after that chapter, there will be no more acceptance of OCs, got it? Good.

Over and out for now.

~ DJ.

_One will die every week…_


	4. SOS for Scott

Bloody Vengence chapter four, **SOS for Scott**

_

* * *

_

Feb 16th, 6:23am.

"Godamnit, can I go to bed now?" Scott Winters muttered. Having been working on the ship maintenance for the past day or so he was feeling quite pissed off. And tired. But mostly pissed off.

"No, Scott. There's much work to be done." Captain Len Spidd replied, wagging a finger in Scott's direction.

"I've been working for the past 10 frigging hours! While everyone else was partying I've had to help you with the damn ship maintenance!" Obviously, Scott is pissed off that he wasn't able to party last night.

"Everyone has to help sooner or later. Just think of it like this: Today's your day to help, and after today you won't have to help anymore."

"… Fine." Scott said, his arms slumping to his side. "Well, what's next?"

"Ah, that's a slightly better work ethic, Scott! Don't worry, this is your last job, then you can go sleep, or party, or do drugs, or whatever the hell turns you on."

Scott let out a loud breath of freedom. "Alright, what's this last job?"

"The ship's been lagging for the past few hours. Go down to the engine room, see if you can spot anything wrong, maybe chuck some more coal on the fire. After that, you can go party."

"Awesome." Scott nodded his head, and quickly walked off.

"That boy's got a wee bit too much energy, methinks…" Len mused as he watched Scott walk away.

"I'll show YOU some ENERGY!" Drifty yelled out from the bar, before attempting to throw a peanut at Len. He missed, and drowned his poor accuracy sorrows in – surprise, surprise – more beer.

* * *

"Do you know what day it is, Ruffy?"

The brown bear known as Ruffy looked towards his Monkey companion. Oscar, smiled and widened his eyes expectantly. Ruffy grinned.

"Oh, yeah! It's that day! Hey Crack, you know what day it is?" Ruffy said, smiling towards the black rabbit who was busy nodding his head to his ipod.

"Crack?"

Nod. Nod. Nod.

"Crack!"

Nod. Nod. Nod.

"Screw that. Hey Rager! You know what day it is?" Ruffy turned to the final companion in this room, the black wolf known in the precinct as Rager. Rager put his hand to his chin, and stroked it thoughtfully.

"Ah, yes. 10 years ago, the murderer known as the Broadshore Butcher disappeared, leaving more than 200 dead in the space of thirty years. We still haven't found him, but I hope the bastard had a sudden change of mind and killed himself."

Oscar and Ruffy exchanged glances. "Actually, we were going to say it's Tuesday, but that works too."

"Speaking of which, why are we here again?" The 3 turned to Crack, who stopped his music long enough to ask a vital question.

"Ooh, ooh! I know! Pick me! Pick me!" Oscar jumped up and down on the spot, flailing his arms in the air wildly. Rager sighed and pointed a finger at Oscar.

"All right, here's the plan, right, we're here to save Princess Peach from the evil Bowser turtle-like thing, and in return she shall give us some pie." Oscar finished happily, looking at the others expectantly.

"No? Didn't think so…"

"Ooookay… You got an idea, Ruffy?" Rager asked, turning to Ruffy.

"Does it have to be limited to cheap video game rip-offs?"

Rager blinked, then shook his head. "We're here, because there's some people who think the Broadshore Butcher isn't dead. That for some reason or another, The Surgeon was just biding his time until we all forgot about these gruesome murders. Some kind of sick anniversary gift, one might say."

"Why now? Why wait 10 years? Why not 5?" Ruffy asked.

Rager shrugged. "His favourite number?"

* * *

Down in the ship's engine room, Scott inspected the engines. Or, at least made it look like he was inspecting the engines. It's not like anyone else was down here, right?

… Right?

"Okay, so where was the coal burning part of the engines? Was that it- No, that was electric. Better not touch that. Ah, there it is!" Scott triumphantly walked towards the coal engine, where it was billowing a large amount of smoke. Scott picked up his walkie-talkie and turned it on.

"Captain, Scott here. The engines making a lot of… smoke. Is that usual?"

Scott waited for an answer. After a short pause the radio crackled to life.

"Scott, where you been man? You missed the party last night! It was awesome!"

"… Sikks?"

"Yep! Man, you should've been there! A beach party in the moonlight, and the women would've swooned at anything!"

"… You made an ass of yourself again, didn't you?"

"… Maybe…"

Scott hanged up, and switched to a different channel. "Scott to-"

"- Aye, there you are Scotty! I thought you lost contact there. Tell me, what's up in the engine room?"

"Captain! The coal engine is emitting a large amount of black smoke. Is this normal?"

"… Black smoke you say?"

"Yeah."

"Something must be clogging it up. Reach in there and see if you can unclog it."

"… Say what?"

"Reach in-"

"You're telling me to GO INTO THE FIRE AND LOOK AROUND?!?"

"Just stick your head in, maybe poke around with a stick. I promise you won't die or nothing."

"So you find nothing wrong with putting your head in a fire?"

"Just do it, Scott. Then you're done."

Scott sighed. "Godamnit."

He hanged up and hesitantly approached the coal burner. Hey, now or never. Preferably never, but whatever. Scott picked up an iron poker, and whipped the coal door open.

The effect was immediate.

Smoke billowed from the door, and Scott shielded his face with his arm. Coughing blindly, he poked the iron poker into the engine and started wiggling it around. Once he tried to pull it out though, he found he couldn't. It was stuck.

Scott waved the smoke away and swore loudly. He put both hands on the poker and pulled hard. With a particularly hard tug, the poker flew backwards, and the black smoke stopped. With a pleased sigh, Scott shut the door, and turned around. He looked at what was stuck on the end of the poker, and froze.

"HOLY FUCKING FUCK!"

* * *

Approximately 2 minutes and 47 minutes later, everyone on the ship converged in the dining room. There was much discussion about what made Scott swear loudly, and what was for breakfast. Flippy, Scott, and Captain Len were discussing something away from the group. Scott looked decidedly pale.

"Should we tell them?"

"You kidding? We tell them, this whole trip will be ruined! It's best to say you just slipped or something. Or even better, say nothing."

"I dunno, Len. I gotta agree with Scott."

"WHAT?!?"

"They're bound to find out sooner or later. We might as well tell them now."

"Fine, but if they vote to go back to the mainland then I'm never doing a job for you again."

The three turned to the rest of the group. Flippy stepped forward and addressed them all.

"Alright, so you've probably thinking why you're here."

"I'm not!" Lumpy shouted happily.

"That's because you never think. When Scott here went down to the engine room to check for any problems, he found something… Something spine-tingling, something mind-numbing, something shock-and-aweing, somet-"

"Are you going to keep adding random stuff for dramatic effect, or are you going to tell us what woke me up from my beauty sleep?" Disco interrupted, and Flippy sent him a glare that could've melted the ice age.

"So long story short, Scott found this…" Flippy nodded at Len, who begrudgingly tossed a sack onto the table, landing it with a loud thump. The group exchanged glances, no-one wanting to be the first to open the bag.

"What are you all afraid of?" Niki asked, reaching for the bag. "It's not like it's a bomb or something like thaWOAHHOLYSHIT!" Niki suddenly threw the bag back onto the center of the table, and the thing that was in the bag rolled out.

It was slightly black, cracked, and shaped like a football.

It was a half-burnt skull.

"Scheiße…" Fritz exclaimed, eyes wide open. Everyone else had a similar thing to say.

"Mother of god…" Pop muttered, shielding Cub's eyes from the skull.

"Now that's just fucking super." DJ muttered.

"Is… Is that a Neanderthal skull?" Pike asked, squinting at the skull.

"Cro-Marmot." Spades sighed. Behind him, Drifty drunkenly cheered.

"Boo hoo fucking hoo, the fucking caveman's dead. Who gives a damn?" Handy said, crossing his arms… Er, nubs across his chest.

"SURPRISE, COCKFACE!" CrayZee randomly yelled, startling Mime, who let out a silent scream.

"Where did you find it?" Fluffee asked, avoiding eye contact (?) with the skull.

"In the, er, coal burning engine thingy." Scott replied.

"Who checked it before you?"

"That would be me." Len stepped forward. "I last checked it two days ago, but there was nothing like THAT in it."

"What do you think happened?" Sparky wondered. Everyone glanced at the person next to them, and couldn't think of a good answer.

"I've got an idea…" Scott put his hand up. "Maybe… And I'm not accusing anyone here, but maybe someone might've, you know… Killed him?"

"Makes a lot more sense than being a complete dickwad and tripping over his own feet onto an open fire." Sikks murmured. Lumpy whistled and looked in the other direction. Of course, doing this made everyone else look at him.

* * *

Some time later.  
Rrrrrrrrrrring. Rrrrrrrrrring. Rrin-

"Hello, this is senior officer Rager of the Broadshore Island Police. What up?"

"Uh, yeah, I'd like to, uh, report a , um, murder?"

"… Terrific. Who is this?"

"Oh, um, I'm Scott Winters, I found what's left of the body."

"Okay, where are you now?"

"On the ship Eurotort or whatever it's called. The holiday cruise ship."

"Oh yeah, I know that one. Tell the captain to dock it at Broadshore Island."

"At where?"

"It's just to the East of your position, if your captain's been following the map. Me & my team will meet you at the port."

"Alright, see you then."

* * *

"Captain Spidd, I've just got off the phone to the shore. They want you to park the boat at the docks at Broadshore Island. They'll be investigating Cro-Marmot's death." Scott told Len, who was taking a short break to nervously chew on his sailor hat.

"Ah, damnit. Alright, fine. I bet they'll make me stop sailing. The bastards… Alright, Scott. You're free to go." Len waved Scott away, and went back to nervously chewing his hat.

* * *

Scott walked purposely to his room, intent on getting some good sleep. It's been a rough day, and he was really tired. He reached into his pocket, looking for his keys…

"Where are my keys?!?"

Scott thought back to when he last saw his keys. In the engine room, where he found what was left of Cro-

Wait, engine room?

God-fucking-damnit.

_

* * *

_

Jeez, I wondered when he would show up. He was going to notice his missing keys sooner or later, but I was hoping it would be sooner. Aw, well.

_While he was busy looking for his keys, I snuck up behind him, and prepared to attack. Unfortunately, the boy must've heard me, because next thing I knew he had grabbed the iron poker and swiped it at my forehead. He missed, and I was treated to a delightfully confused expression on his face._

"_What are you doing here?" He asked. Oh, he just HAS to make me spell it out._

"_Killing you." I replied, and smiled when his eyes widen with realisation. He opened his mouth, to yell for someone, presumably, but I punched him in the throat. Great save. As he gasped for air, I dragged his body over to one side of the room, and put his face right next to it._

_Ah, I could hear the buzzing of the exposed electrical wiring myself. One can only wonder what would be going through his mind. I held him there for 5 seconds, long enough for him to think I would stop and let him go free, then I roughly shoved him onto the electrical wall._

_50,000 volts of electricity coursed though his body. His body jerked around, his mouth open in a silent scream of pain. Then, one of his eyes popped out,the other exploded, and his brain short-circuited._

_It was all very amusing._

* * *

This chapter is dedicated to Boulder the Dragon, sorry I had to kill Scott off, but he has to die sooner or later, right? So until next time, try to guess who the murderer is!

_You'll probably get it wrong though._

Reveiw if you want to.

~ DJ.

_One will die every week..._


	5. First Suspicions

Bloody Vengeance chap 5, **First Suspect**.

Hey, I got some free time on my hands, so expect several chapters up sooner. Oh, and awesome news! I got a new kitty! He's a chocolate-brown Burmese, and I called him Desmond. Of course, he woke me up this morning by meowing in my face, but he's such a cutie I can't stay mad at him.

Arrow363: When I kill off an OC, I dedicate the chapter to them, for thanks for letting me use them. This doesn't usually apply to chapter titles, I just couldn't think of anything for the last chapter title.

----------

Feb 16th, about 12:42pm.

Most of the guests sat around the dining table, each glancing at someone else suspiciously. It was highly likely that someone had killed Cro-Marmot, and due to that everyone was having less fun than usual. Which is quite obvious, I mean if a murderer was right next to you would you want to go play monopoly or something?

"What's happening?" Drifty asked, holding a bag of ice to his head. He'd finally stopped drinking after a rainbow unicorn playing a banjo told him if he drunk another drop of alcohol his testicles would explode.

"How long have you been drinking?" A stunned Spades asked.

"2 whole days. A new record." Drifty said smugly. Then grimaced because of his hangover.

"I hear raw eggs help a hangover." Fluffee offered, causing Fritz to snort. Fluffee ignored that.

"Eh, my hangover will cure itself. Now someone going to tell why everyone looks like it's the end of the world, or are you all going to give me the silent treatment?"

Everyone exchanged glances, then Flippy stood up.

"Long story short, someone killed Cro-Marmot and possibly Russell, and nobody knows who."

"Pfft, Cro-Marmot? Yeah, right." Drifty scoffed. "He survives anything."

"Don't believe it, have his skull." DJ said, non-chalantly throwing what was left of Cro-Marmot's head to Drifty.

"Geez, have some respect for the dead, mate…" Toothy muttered.

"Hey, can anyone honestly say they liked Cro? No? Didn't think so. So no harm done." DJ replied, flicking through the pages of another book. (_'Christine' by Stephen King) _

"How can you read at a time like this?!?" Giggles exclaimed, pointing a finger furiously.

"Very easily."

"But how?!?"

"Giggles, I thought you were smarter than Lumpy. Obviously, I was wrong. You see, my eyes see the letters, and my brain arranges them into words, and all these words form together to make a story. It's a very confusing process, I know, but it's all very fulfilling." DJ explained condescendingly, like he was talking to a baby.

"What's fulfilling, the reading part, or the being a sarcastic smart-ass part?"

"Both."

"If I didn't know better, I'd think you had something to do with Cro's death."

"You're not so perfect yourself, hoss. Does your boyfriend know you're not in bed with him?"

"OKAY, that's enough!" All eyes suddenly turned to Captain Len Spidd, who looked very angry. Drifty flinched when Len yelled, and started to say something, but a sharp look stopped him in his tracks.

"Look, it's all very obvious this trip's been ruined, but let's not make it worse by jumping to conclusions, okay? Go do something else, keep your mind off the whole murder shit, and STOP USING CRO-MARMOT'S SKULL AS A FOOTBALL!"

Cub started crying at Len's yelling, and dropped the skull. He was that close to scoring a goal, too. Pop picked him up and hugged him tightly. Len looked around the room, as if daring anyone to complain, then turned and left.

The silence following this was deafening. Some looked at each other worriedly, some quietly left, and Giggles gave DJ a hateful glare. DJ smiled, and turned the page in his book.

"Okay, so let's do something else then. Any suggestions?" Pike asked everyone. Sikks picked up a set of cards.

"Poker?"

* * *

"How do we even know if this new murder is connected to the old murders?"

"C'mon, there hasn't been a single kill on Broadshore Island for a decade, and a decade ago the Broadshore Butcher disappeared. You ask me, it was just waiting to happen. Now let's get into gear, people!" Rager clapped his hands and pointed around the room.

"Oscar, you search the history of all the passengers on that ship. Name, age, crimes, anything suspicious, you do it. And for god's sake, don't Google your own name again."

Oscar grinned sheepishly.

"Ruffy, get very scrap of information you can find about the Broadshore Butcher."

"Don't we already have everything on him?"

"Double check it. Crack, GET THAT FRICKING IPOD OUT OF YOUR EARS."

-----------------

"Ha! Straight flush! Yeah! Off with the top!"

"Disco, it's not strip poker."

"Hmph. It should be."

"It's not strip poker because nobody, not even the last woman on earth, wants to gaze upon your disgusting bod."

"Hmph." Disco muttered again, and crossed his arms.

"Guys, why is Mole playing?" Sikks asked, pointing a thumb at Mole, who had his cards facing the wrong way (He had a Joker and a coupon for a free massage.)

"Just because he's blind doesn't mean he can't play." Spades said as Fritz reached for a card from the pile. At that moment, Mole slammed his hand down on the pile of cards, effectively crushing Fritz's hand and half the cards.

"Oooh, we're playing Snap?" Lumpy asked excitedly.

"NOOOOO!!!" Everyone yelled, but it was too late. Lumpy punched the table so hard, it broke in two. Cards flew everywhere, and Lumpy cheered like he just won the Olympics.

"You were saying?" Sikks asked, as CrayZee swore and attacked what was left of the table with a chainsaw.

----------

Meanwhile.

Flaky ran into a nearby closet and shut the door. She could here footsteps approaching, and was convinced her pursuer would hear her heart beating. The door suddenly sprung open, and Niki tagged her arm.

"Found you Flakes! Now come help me look for the others!" Niki grinned, and pulled Flaky down the hallway.

"Alright, whose still hiding?" Flaky nervously asked, as Ni,ki skipped along.

"Cuddles, Giggles, Lifty, Shifty, Mime, Fluffee, Nutty, Toothy, and Sparky."

"… You're not good at Hide and Seek, are you?"

"No, not really."

-------------

Sparky watched as Flaky and Niki rushed by. _Phew, they didn't see me. I gotta get a better hiding place!_ She thought, and looked around. Her eyes settled on the door to the engine room and she smiled.

_Bingo!_

------------

At precisely 2:14pm, a scream filled the air, and everyone turned to the engine room.

"That sounded like Sparky…" Sniffles whispered, and started running to the engine room. By the time he got there, a small crowd had formed at the doors, and several people looked like they were about to vomit.

"Hey, move it!" Sniffled said as he pushed through the crowd searching for Sparky. He found her just inside the door, crying hysterically.

"Sparky! Sparky, it's okay, it's me, it's Sniffles, what is it? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Sniffled asked, holding Sparky protectively. Sparky looked at him with tear-filled eyes, and pointed down towards Scott Winter's charred body.

---------

"Alright, alright, move it!" Flippy shouted, pushing people out of his way. He approached Scott's body with caution and knelt down to check a pulse.

"Don't do that. He's been electrocuted. He might still have the electricity in him, don't touch him." Pike said from across the room.

"He might still be alive, we've got to be sure." Flippy reasoned.

"Check all you want, but from my experience when someone's eyes explode from pure energy they don't just go down to the bar and have a beer." Fritz muttered. Len approached Flippy and glanced at Scott's body.

"Damn, he just finished work too. Sparky found the body, you might want to talk to her."

Flippy nodded, and walked towards Sparky, who had stopped sobbing and was now talking to Sniffles.

"Sparky, how did you find… Scott?" He asked.

"I- I was p-p-playing hide and seek, and I though this w-would be a good h-h-hiding spot…"

"Did you see anyone else?"

"I…"

"Sparky, did you see someone?"

"Hey, leave her alone!" Sniffles said, pushing Flippy away. "The poor girl's in shock, find someone else to interrogate!"

Flippy held up his hands and backed away. From next to Scott's body, DJ rolled his eyes.

"Looks like Sniffy over there has officially gone all 'protective boyfriend' on us all. And it's all thanks to you, Scotty." DJ told the dead body. Scott, no longer being alive, said nothing.

------------------

2:39pm.

After a while, the crowd has dispersed. All that remained in the engine room were Flippy, Len and of course, Scott.

"Think it's the same guy that killed Cro?" Flippy wondered aloud.

"I'm not sure." Len said, not keeping his eyes off Scott. "But we've gotta do something about it."

Flippy looked at Len confusedly. "What are you suggesting?"

"Round up everyone and get them to the Ball room. I think it's time for a good ol' fashioned suspect watch."

---------------

3:00pm.

Flippy pushed the doors to the Ball room open, and all conversations immediately ceased. He looked around the room, at all the guests. One of them had to be a killer. I mean, more so than usual.

"Okay… Let's just get this over with, okay? It's obvious we all think someone's killed Cro, Russell and Scott, so let's just let the accusations fly and go on with our lives."

Everyone blinked simultaneously. Len leant towards Flippy. "My plan was better." He whispered.

"Shut it."

"Uh…" All eyes went to Fluffee. "I hate to bring this up, but what about Flippy's evil side?"

"Oh, he's on holiday." Flippy non-chalantly said, waving an arm away. "We've got an agreement. Evil doesn't kill us, and in return I'll go buy those pancakes he loves when we get back."

_And don't you forget it, boy. I want those pancakes._

Giggles stepped forward. "I have an idea."

"This should be good." DJ muttered under his breath, his eyes not leaving his book. (_Adam Copeland on Edge_)

"Funny you should say that, DJ. You didn't seem surprised at all when you saw Scott's body and Cro's remains." Giggles said. DJ closed his book and looked at her.

"Point being?"

"You're hiding something, I know it."

"What are you, physic?"

"What is with you? One day you're all quiet and kind, next you're sarcastic and moody."

"I'm a complex guy, sweetheart."

"You're also a murderer." Giggles countered, pointing a finger at DJ.

"You think I have something to do with this?"

"It's more than likely."

"Hey, I just realised something." Fritz interrupted. "Scott was electrocuted, right? Well, doesn't a certain someone here have electrical powers?" Fritz pointed at Sparky, who stood next to Sniffles in disbelief.

"…You cannot be serious." Sniffles said after a short pause.

"Just pointing out the facts, man."

"Well, you're more likely to be a killer. Just look at you."

"Hey, uncal-"

"You look, sound, even smell like scum. When the last time you had a bath?"

"Know what? Fuck this, I'm leaving." Fritz walked towards the door, but Captain Len Spidd stopped him.

"We are all going to stay in here until I say so. You got a problem with that?" Len said through gritted teeth.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do-" Fritz began, but was quickly cut off.

"Too bad. Nobody's leaving."

Fritz scowled, and probably said something insulting in German, but hesitantly backed off.

"It could be Handy." Niki jokingly said, and the un-armed beaver scowled.

"Yeah, blame the guy with no hands." He said, crossing his nubs. "What about him… her… That thing?" He said, pointing a nub in the general direction of CrayZee, who was shouting at a vase of flowers. Handy watched in smug silence as CrayZee randomly whipped out a chainsaw and 'trimmed' the flowers.

"Bet it's fatty there." Sikks smirked, pointing to the fat tub of lard known as Disco Bear.

"I'm not fat, I'm big-boned!"

"Suuuure you are."

"Wouldn't it just be an ironic twist if the murderer turned out to be Lumpy?" Lifty said to his brother.

"More like moronic twist." Shifty replied, and the two brothers grinned.

"You know what?" Spades said aloud, adjusting his fedora. "I originally booked tickets for this trip for myself and my sister, Laces. But the night before we set off, she woke up screaming, and begged not to go on the trip…"

"… You don't think… She knew this would happen?" Fluffee said in disbelief. Spades simply shrugged.

It was at that moment that all the lights went out.

-------------

_The second I switched off the lights, everyone started screaming. Better get this done quick before somebody turns the lights back on._

_Lucky I can see in the dark, eh?_

_I approached someone who wasn't looking around and screaming. This confused me, but then I realised it was the blind mole. Of course. He hadn't noticed anything had changed._

_He should notice in a minute._

_I waved a hand in front of his face. Satisfied there was no visual response, I moved behind him and unsheathed the knife I stole from the dining room. I grabbed his face, and in one swift motion I slit his throat._

_I could see his blood spurt out in front of him, splashing on several other guests. I quietly headed back to my seat, casually slipping the knife into someone's pocket on the way by, then I flicked the lights back on and admired my own master piece._

_The end results were quite amusing._

-----------------

When the lights flicked back on, everyone stopped screaming. Then they saw Mole's body and started screaming again.

Luckily, only those who were near Mole got sprayed with blood. Petunia took one look at herself, dripping with Mole's blood, and screamed louder than anyone else. Then she fainted. Sniffles & Sparky, having been just to the left of Mole, only got slightly wet. And DJ, who obviously got the worst of the blood fountain, threw down his book and shouted in perfect clarity:

"Fucking Godamnit, Mole! Couldn't you have spilled your fucking blood in some other sodding direction?!?"

--------------

I just love that last line. And look Arrow363! I stopped Drifty drinking! (For now, at least.)

As you can see, suspicions are already flying. Obviously, Giggles & DJ don't like each other. Sniffles has become a 'man' in his mind. Cro-Marmot's skull makes a good football. And in his last moments of life, Mole manages to piss off a good deal of the guests with his blood fountain trick.

And I just noticed: In the HTF section of fanfic they've finally added the character options! Nothing else to add here.

Until next time, this is DJ Shifty signing off for now. Review if you want to.

~ DJ.

_One will die every week…_


	6. Stealth Kill

Bloody Vengeance chap 6, **Stealth Kill**

Sorry for the slow update, my internet cut out a few weeks ago and I had to use the library.

------------------

"Oscar, you got those reports yet?"

"Got 'em, Rager! Roughly around 30 passengers on the boat, all of various species. The boat itself is registered to a Mr. Spidd, who sounds like a potato. I understand the said potato is currently the captain of said ship. The ship was rented by a Mr. Flippy, to celebrate his smoochy love for one Mrs. Flaky. He invited his friends and anyone else who wanted to come."

"Nice work, what about the passengers themselves? Any plausible suspects?" Rager questioned, and Oscar looked through his large pile of papers.

"Erm, yes, there's actually quite a lot of suspects. At this point I won't rule out anyone. Based on what reports we have of them, here's my suspect list…" Oscar handed his list to Rager, who glanced at the list of names and rolled his eyes.

"Writing down everyone's name for no reason apart from 'no-one will see it coming' is not a decent suspect list." Rager said, and then checked his watch. "But it's break time. Let's go to lunch!"

This announcement was immediately followed by a chorus of cheers. Rager turned and walked towards the exit, not noticing the 'kick me' sign Oscar had secretly stuck on his back.

------------

"Alright… So what now?"

Several hours after Mole's death, Flippy and Captain Len Spidd stood alone in the ball room. Everyone else left, either to go eat or go party or be with their special other.

"It's simple, Flippy. You go have some rest, maybe some hot-tub action with Flaky, you've deserved it. In the meantime, I'll do some investigation of my own. My way."

"You sure, Len? I can always help…"

"Your girlfriend wants you. You want your girlfriend. Don't deny that feeling in your pants."

Flippy shook his head, but smiled anyway. "You're a sick minded person, you know that?"

"Yep. Now go, Flippy! Your bed awaits!"

Flippy laughed, and walked out. Len was left alone with Mole's body. He looked at the dead body for a second, then walked away too. Time to interrogate a few suspects.

---------------

Meanwhile, somewhere else.

Most of the guests sat around lazily, occasionally shooting a suspicious glance at someone. Sikks looked from one guest to another, and sighed.

"You could cut the tension with a knife." He remarked, catching the attention of the usually quite Pike.

"Well, technically, tension is just the air between two high-strung people. You could cut it with anything." Pike said. Sikks rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, man. Hey, I've got an idea!" Sikks started, his eyes widening. "Let's go to the pool!"

His suggestion was met with a mixture of bored looks, 'are you stoned' questions, and a blunt 'No fucking way', the last one courtesy of DJ.

"Aw, c'mon! It'll give us something to do!" Sikks reasoned, but still didn't get a positive response. He gave up, and settled for making Lumpy do stupid stuff.

------------------

"Alright, Ruffy! Let's see what you've got."

"Ahem… _'You will get a new feel for mechanics in the near future.' _Well, that sucks."

"Better than mine. _'Twists and turns await you.'_ Seriously, twists and turns happen every day. What's yours say, Crack?"

"Huh? Oh, _'Hai! I think yur cute __ Wnt 2 hng out l8r? Plz???'_"

"I'm sorry, what?" Rager said, confused. "I don't speak stupid. Oscar, do we have to get fortune cookies every single time we go to a Chinese restaurant?"

"Uh, YEAH." Oscar said as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "What's the point of going to a Chinese restaurant if you don't even buy a fortune cookie? That's why they invented Chinese food in the first place!"

Rager, Ruffy, and Crack exchanged glances. Was Oscar drunk? No, Oscar was being Oscar.

"Do you listen to yourself when you talk?" Rager finally asked, and regretted it as soon as it left his mouth.

"No, I tape record it and listen to it later because I LOVE MY VOICE, and furthermore-"

Thankfully, Oscar's rant was interrupted by a waitress, checking up on them.

"Will that be all, sirs?" She said, winking seductively at Crack. For his part, Crack started drooling.

"Uh, yes. Check, plz- I mean, please! Damnit!" Rager stumbled, as Ruffy waved a hand in front of Crack's unblinking eyes. Rager quickly tossed a handful of bills on the table and stood up.

"C'mon, guys. We'll check back at the station, then go meet our suspects when they arrive." Rager said, and he turned and exited the building.

"You coming, Crack?" Ruffy asked his music-loving companion.

"Don't wait up." Crack said happily, and he eagerly followed the waitress away.

"You can do it, Crack! You can do it… All night long!" Oscar yelled after Crack, attracting stares from many disgusted customers. Ruffy took Oscar by the shoulder and gently lead him out the front door.

---------------

Pop watched happily as Cub & Niki played Peek-a-boo. He wasn't sure who was peeking who, but they both was laughing their asses off. He was so engrossed in watching the two play that he didn't notice the shadow creep up next to him until it was too late.

"You keep staring; people are going to think you're a paedophile."

Pop made a loud half-jump motion, which would've looked cool in slow-mo, and quickly turned to the new arrival.

"Jeez, Fritz. Don't creep up on my like that. You nearly made me have a heart attack." Pop gasped, clutching his chest for added effect.

"Wow, that would totally suck." Fritz replied, and Pop couldn't help but notice the hint of sarcasm in Fritz's voice. He straightened up, and looked Fritz in the eye.

"Is there something you want, Fritz?"

"I just wanna ask you something."

"Ask away, then go away."

"How much do you love Cub?"

Pop stood shocked. "…Wha?"

"If it come down to it, would you give your life for him, or would you throw him to death so you could escape?" Fritz said, in complete seriousness.

Pop blinked. He was expecting a question about the bathrooms, or at least his underwear size. But this was totally unexpected. He mumbled something unintelligible, and Fritz leant in closer.

"I'm sorry, what was that?"

Pop turned his gaze to his child, laughing happily with Niki. He couldn't bear to lose him… But then again…

"I guess we'll find out when it happens."

* * *

"Where's Crack?" Rager asked his fellow officers once they arrived at the police car.

"He's… um, following a lead." Ruffy said, exchanging a knowing glance with Oscar.

"Gonna be busy all night. Best not to interrupt him." Oscar said, holding back a smile. Rager rolled his eyes and started driving to the police station.

"Oh, hey Rager." Ruffy started. "What did your fortune cookie say?"

"See for yourself." Rager roughly replied, and tossed the piece of fortune paper at Oscar. Oscar deftly caught it with one hand, and read it out loud.

"'_Divided you fall… United you still fall. Give up while you still have the chance.'_" Oscar finished reading and put a hand on his chin thoughtfully.

"Well… That's not a good fortune. Should we get a refund?"

* * *

"We're all doomed." Fluffee morbidly said.

"Sky ain't falling yet, Chicken Little." Drifty replied, his eyes not leaving the potential disaster in front of him. He slowly reached forward, and-

"Don't do it, man. You're making a big mistake." Fluffee reasoned.

"It's his to make, Fluff." Spades said, watching the two silently argue on what to do. Fluffee gave him a quick glance of disbelief, then went back to Drifty.

Before Fluffee could say another word, Drifty's hand leapt forward and grabbed the dice. "I'm attacking France." He said, and he rolled the said dice.

If you hadn't figured it out now, they're playing Risk.

"I can't believe you've just given him Australia." Fluffee remarked as Drifty moved some of his little toy soldiers across the French border. "Australia's the key to the whole game."

"Says you. Your turn, CrayZee."

CrayZee clapped his/her hands, grabbed the dice and threw them across the room. One of the flew out an open window and went into the sea, and the other rebounded off the wall and struck CrayZee in the face.

CrayZee blinked in surprise. Then, "MOTHERFUCKING SON OF A GODDAMN BITCH!" CrayZee then proceeded to pull out a chainsaw (out of nowhere, might I add) and destroy the dice beyond recognition.

"Wanna call it a tie?" Spades asked. Fluffee and Drifty both nodded.

* * *

Much Later.

"Help yourself to some wine, cake, whatever. It's self-serving, because I couldn't find some decent waiters."

The guests applauded this short speech, and Flippy took a small bow and sat down next to, predictably, Flaky.

"Enjoying your meal, Flaky?" He asked. Flaky was just playing with her food with a troubled look on her face. She looked at him and then looked around at the surviving guests.

"How can we eat, when a murderer is on the loose? Any one of us could be next. I don't want you to die, Flippy." She said, avoiding Flippy's gaze.

"Hey." Flippy said, getting no answer. "Hey, Flakes." He gently grabbed Flaky's jaw and turned it towards him, finally making her look him in the eyes. "I promise you, no harm will come to me or you. I promise." Flippy whispered.

Flaky smiled, and the two silently kissed.

Meanwhile, Lifty & Shifty were shoving as much food as they could into their pockets… Then trying to walk away casually. It looked more like an overweight duck waddle, but no-one decided to point that out.

Toothy watched Handy attempt to pick up his food with a knife and fork. Of course, he was failing. Toothy suppressed a grin, and turned to his other companion, Nutty, who was chocking down as much candy as his mouth could hold.

"Dude, this is hilarious! We should give him chopsticks and see what he does." Toothy turned back to Handy, and to his surprise Handy's plate was clean, and Handy himself was munching contently.

"Wha.. But… How?!?" Toothy stuttered, and Handy swallowed his meal and smiled.

"I can do anything when no-one's watching."

Pop fed Cub some baby food with a spoon, and across the hall his gaze caught Fritz. Fritz waved, and Pop slowly waved back. He turned back to Cub, and was horrified to find that he had nearly stuck the spoon all the way down Cub's throat. He quickly retracted it, and looked around to check if anyone had seen his mistake. Fritz smiled, and gave him a mocking thumb-up.

Disco Bear looked at the catering table in distaste, searching for something edible. "Stupid health food. Where's some calories when you need them?"

His gaze travelled around the table, and his eyes stopped on a fat, delicious chocolate-iced donut.

It was like love at first sight. It's advised you read the next paragraph in slow motion.

Disco ran towards it, not quite at breakneck speed. His multiple chins waved to and fro, and the ground shook with every loving step he took. Underneath his clothes, his many fat rolls formed a tidal roll, and no doubt his thighs brushed against each other so much sparks flew. He was steps away from the wonderful chocolate donut, his arm reaching towards it-

"Oooh, a giant Cheezel!" Lumpy said, and threaded his finger through the hole in the middle of the donut. "Ha, I's married!" He said happily, and walked away.

Disco froze in mid-motion, his arm still hovering in mid-air, his chins paused in the wind, his fat rolls halted in the middle of a wave. All at once, his body sagged dejectedly.

-------------------

_It's that time again._

_I looked around the room, looking for my next victim. I saw the purple mime deer walk out the dining room doorways to my left. He will do._

_I silently got up, and exited not the left, but the right doors, to avoid suspicion. If I knew the ship plans right, which I did, the mime would be heading to the toilets._

_My assumption proven to be correct. I circled around, and saw him enter the male toilets. I followed him, and when he approached the urinal I attacked._

_I swiftly stabbed him in the back, then dragged the knife across to the right, cutting his spine in two. I flipped him over, and stabbed the knife deep into his ribcage, splitting bones and tissue. Just to be sure, I stabbed him one more time, this time above the crotch. Slice the knife in another right-left motion, effectively severing the kidneys. He didn't say a word during the whole process._

_Satisfied with my handiwork, I put the knife away and gazed upon my master piece. By some miracle, the bastard was still alive. Not for long, he would die of either organ failure or blood loss in a few seconds._

_That final thought in mind, I washed my hands, and then doubled back to get to my seat. I leant back and waited to see who would find my art first._

-----------------

Sniffles sipped from his glass of wine. He'd been drinking much, trying to forget what had happened. Unfortunately, his drinking had a unexpected side effect. "Back in a sec," He whispered to Sparky. "Bathroom."

"Could you take this to a recycle bin on your way?" Sparky asked, holding up a now empty bottle of wine. Sniffles smiled, and took it as he walked out the dining room. He pushed open the boy's bathroom, and froze.

In front of him was what was left of Mime, abso-fucking-lutley covered in blood, yet still alive. Mime mouthed something to him, but Sniffles was too shell-shocked to notice. He rushed to Mime, and checked the wound. Multiple tears and stab wounds to the back, stomach and chest. It was a bloody miracle he was still alive.

"Mime, quick, tell me who did this to you!" Sniffles said hurriedly. Mime, being a mime, said nothing. Instead he started spelling out the name of the person. But his moves were slow, uncoordinated. At the fourth letter, his arm slowed, and finally halted. The life slowly faded from Mime's eyes, and the arm slumped to the floor.

He was dead.

Sniffles stood in horror, his grip on the empty bottle of wine loosening. The bottle fell from his grasp and hit the floor, shattering into millions of pieces. Inside the dining room, everyone's eyes shot to the sound of breaking glass. Len was the first to react, and he got up and ran out the doors. Sparky, remembering that Sniffles had gone to the bathroom, got up and followed Len worriedly. A small handful paused, and then followed them.

Len pushed the men's bathroom door open, and froze. Those who followed him took one look into the bathroom and quickly backed off, a few vomiting. Those who didn't back off gazed at Sniffles, standing above Mime's blood-soaked body. They all came to the same conclusion.

"Sniffles… No, tell me you didn't…" Sparky said, staring in horror at the scene before her. Sniffles looked up from Mime's body, and opened his mouth to say something, when Len stepped forward and punched him in the face. Sniffles stumbled back, slipped over Mime's blood and fell backwards, his head hitting the side of the urinal and he promptly blacked out.

* * *

OOOOHH! Mime's dead! And Sniffles has been cast into the Suspect Spotlight!

_Oh, and if you're still reading in slow-motion, you should stop now._

Obviously. So guess who the killer is, if you want. I seriously doubt you'll get it right, I'm not planning to reveal them for at least 20 more chapters.

_You're seriously in this for the long haul?_

Yep. But I need you, the people on the other side of the screen, to help me decide something. Should I keep the format of this story a strict 'one kill per chapter' thing, or occasionally switch to a 'multiple kills if necessary' rule? There's a poll set up on my profile, where you can vote.

_Is there an option called 'kill everyone who looks at you weird?'_

… No.

_There should be._

Whatever. Review if you want to.

~ DJ.

_One will die every week…_


	7. Irony

Man, sorry for the wait. Severe writers block. But thanks to my new bunny slippers, I defeated the horrible Block Monster! Onward with the story!

* * *

"Stop!" Sparky shouted desperately, but Len wouldn't listen. He just kept punching Sniffles over and over again.

"You'll kill him!" Sparky cried.

"Is that *punch* meant to be *punch* an incentive *punch* for me *punch* to stop?!?" Len shouted between punches. Len raised his hand for another hard punch, but Sparky grabbed his hand.

"Hey, what you-" Len started, but was quickly cut off when Sparky sent a few thousand volts of electricity through his body. Len leant back, rubbing his now-burning arm, and shot Sparky a death glare.

"Someone help me pick him up." She said to the surrounding crowd, and after a short pause Flippy, Drifty and Spades stepped forward. Drifty and Spades each grabbed a leg, and Flippy and Sparky grabbed an arm. They all picked him up, and started dragging him away.

"Where are we taking him?" Spades asked. Sparky opened her mouth but Flippy beat her to it.

"Holding cells." He whispered.

"What?!?" Sparky shouted in disbelief, but Flippy said nothing more as the foursome carried Sniffles away.

"Okay, back up! Nothing to see here!" Len shouted waved the crowd away from the crime scene, one of his arms now looking a bit burnt thanks to Sparky. "Nothing to see here!"

"What about the horribly mutilated body of what once was Mime?"

"… Look, we'll be arriving at Broadshore Island in a few hours, so I suggest you go pack your bags instead of stare at a dead body."

* * *

Meanwhile.

"So that's them, huh?" Ruffy said, squinting against the evening sun at the boat.

"Yep. Somewhere on that boat is the person we're looking for." Rager replied, letting a small smile spread across his face.

"Wow, you're smiling!" Oscar gleefully cried, noting the smile of Rager's face. "That's a once in a blue moon opportunity! Quick Ruffy, take a picture!"

"Wha-" Rager started, but was quickly cut off by a blinding flash. He rubbed his eyes, and Ruffy proudly shook a picture of Rager smiling around in the air. Unfortunately, a sudden gust of wind swept the picture out of Ruffy's hand and into the ocean.

"Aw."

* * *

Sniffles awoke in a dark, dingy cell. His head was pounding and he smelt like death. Which is not a very nice smell, like burnt oysters or some shit like that.

"H-Hello?" He whispered. No answer. "Anyone there?"

"Sniffles? You're awake!" Sparky's voice wafted from the darkness. Sniffles got up and walked towards Sparky's voice. After a few steps he walked into the cell door, banging his head again.

"Oh, right, the lights…" Sparky's voice said, and after a short pause the lights flicked on. Sniffles blinked against the glare, and looked around. His cell was, as you would think, a cell. A small bed in one corner, a dirty toilet in another, just what you'd expect from a cell.

"You okay?" Sparky asked from the other side of the cell. Sniffles approached her and put his hands on the cell bars.

"My head feels like it got run over by an army tank… But I'll live… I think. What happened?"

"Before or after you were knocked unconscious by the captain?"

"… Nevermind. Why am I in what appears to be a jail?"

"It's a precaution."

"Percau- What for?"

"Some of the others… Seem to think you had something to do with the recent… Killings."

Sniffles slowly shook his head. "That's preposterous! Why would I kill Mole, Mime, Scott, Cro, or Russell? That's just… Insanity!"

"I know you didn't do it, Sniffles… We just have to prove it to the others."

* * *

"Where the hell is Crack?" Rager shouted. Ruffy and Oscar exchanged knowing looks, but said nothing. "I said, where is-"

"Right here, man." Crack said, hobbling up towards them. Everyone immediately noticed he was walking slowly and scratching his nether regions.

"… Didn't turn out the way you hoped, did it?" Ruffy said, causing Crack to scowl and put his iPod on. He then proceeded to ignore all the questions Rager was shooting at him and nod his head to some heavy metal.

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the boat… (Where else, Disneyland? Please.)

"I'm booooooooored."

"We know."

"I'm booooooooooored."

"Good for you."

"I'm booooo-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"…"

After reducing Nutty to mere whimpers, CrayZee walked/skipped away, happy that she had done her good deed for the day. Namely, making Nutty shut the fuck up.

Sadly, Nutty is not one for staying quiet.

"I'm booooooooooooooooooooored."

"Well, do something about it then!" Spades said through gritted teeth.

"I want you guys to play with me."

"… You have no idea how bad that sounded." Sikks said while shaking his head.

"C'mon, guy! Let's plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"

Fritz mumbled something in German, which included but wasn't limited to: A bowling ball, hot sauce, and Nutty's rectum. It's probably best if we leave that untranslated.

"I wanna plaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!"

"If we play will you shut your yap?" The usually-quiet Pike snapped.

"Yesh."

"Alrighty then. What are we gonna do?" Drifty asked. Nutty stopped bouncing and looked confused.

"I don't know."

"Alright, Nutty. Here's a game. Hide and Seek. You go hide and we'll go seek." DJ said without looking up from his book. (_The Fox_ by someone called Schadinn) Nutty immediately sped away, leaving everyone else in the dust.

"We're not going to go seek him, are we?"

"Nope."

"HEY, YOU GUYS!"

Everyone who was there turned to the new voice: Sparky, running towards them. She stopped in front of the group and let out a few puffs.

"I need your help." She said after regaining her breath.

"Um… Why?" Niki asked.

"Because I want to prove Sniffles innocent. And you guys, are going to help me."

"What if we refuse to help?"

"Then I'll put naughty pictures of you on the internet."

"Alright, c'mon let's help!" Fluffee said a little too quickly.

Amid grumbles and empty threats, everyone else agreed to help. Except for Nutty, who was still hiding, Lumpy, who was still being a moron, Pop, whose still 'looking' after Cub, and Shifty & Lifty, who were nowhere to be seen.

* * *

"_I bought you some supper." I must admit, even this is fiendishly evil for me. But I suppose I needed a change from the usual 'stab until they stop moving' method. Even though it is quite enjoyable, but I digress._

_I was about to repeat the comment again when the prisoner spoke up: "Thank you." Ah, so the Anteater can still speak. I was momentarily worries I had another mute on my hands._

_I opened up the cell door and handed the tray of food/drinks to the anteater. Nothing extravagant, just a piece of pie and some water. A fitting meal for someone's last._

_I exited the cell and closed the cell door behind me. Sitting down on a simple chair, I waited for the anteater to die._

"_Why are you still here?" The anteater said after a few seconds._

"_I want to ask you some questions."_

"_I didn't kill anyone."_

"_I know."_

_The anteater looked up towards me, a flash of hope on his face._

"_Tell me, Sniffles is it? Yes, tell me Sniffles… How are you feeling?"_

"_Um… Bit hot actually…"_

"_That's because I poisoned your food."_

_A look of shock passed through Sniffle's face. This pleased me._

"_I went through your luggage and do you know what I found? A small potion labelled 'BVA.' I already know what it does, but for the benefit of doubt could you explain it?"_

"_B… B…"_

"_C'mon, I haven't got all day."_

"_BVA stands for Blood Vessel Accelerator. I designed it to help those in critical condition, in need of more blood. They would be injected with the serum and the heart would produce more blood, thereby saving the patient's life. But there were complications. The heart produced too much blood, it became overworked, and it eve- ev- even-" Sniffles coughed a dry cough, and out came a bit of blood. Very amusing. Blood was also leaking from his ears, nose, eyes, and any other hole in his body._

_Sniffles coughed again. "Eventually the heart explodes."_

_I clapped my hands and grinned. "Looks like you know exactly how you're going to die."_

_Sniffles gasped, and fell on his knees, knocked the tray of food away. He clutched a hand to his chest and tried to see through his blood soaked eyes. He shook with pain, and with one last cough collapsed to the floor, not longer moving._

_I watched for another few minutes, then got up. Satisfied there was no more movement, I exited the jail room and went back upstairs._

_I'm in the mood for some pie._

* * *

Man, I hate writer's block. Still, I managed to get this up. Oh, and I've decided that I'll only kill two per chapter if necessary. Apart from that, once per chapter only.

So, yeah. Review if you want to, guess who the killer is, yada yada yada.

~ DJ.


	8. Surprise?

Hey, guess what. I've just finished watching the latest HTF vid, A Bit of a Pickle (Starring Lammy & Mr. Pickles, of course) and, well… I dunno, it wasn't really that great. Although Flaky and Cuddle's deaths made me smile in a grim heartless way, the overall feel of the vid was just a 5/10. But on the plus side, this give many a perverted authors the chance to write about the true relationship between Lammy and her Pickle. In a truly adult way, of course. Like, lonely on a Saturday night adult way. You know, because the pickle looks a bit like a-

*cough*

Nevermind. Why are you all staring at me like that? I warn you, I have a pickle! I mean a shotgun! Damnit!

* * *

The boat drifted idly into the dock of Broadshore Island, and slowly came to a halt. Down came the gangplank, and the first of the guests exited the boat. Rager, Ruffy, Oscar, and to an extent, Crack, were waiting to greet the guests/suspects. Actually, Ruffy and Oscar were doing the greetings. Rager was eyeing all the suspects up and Crack was listening to more heavy metal and scratching his nether regions.

Chances are he was probably regretting his little fling with the waitress.

Chances are even higher that the above statement is false.

As the guests exited the boat onto the peir, most were slow to exit, wary of this new place. And when I say 'most were slow to exit', I mean everyone except the Aquaphobic cat.

"YES! THANK FUCK FOR LAND! FUCK YOU, OCEAN! FUCK YOU AND THE HORSE YOU RODE ON!" DJ shouted happily, and collapsed onto the wooden pier. "Oh, thank you whoever the fuck discovered land. Oh, …" Everyone else kindly stepped over or around DJ as he attempted to hug the ground.

"Let's see…" Rager started counting the suspects off as they exited the boat. "21… 22… 23… 24… 25. Twenty five. Twenty five possible suspects. Twenty five-"

"You're doing that thing again." Ruffy called out, ripping Rager away from his deducing.

"What thing?" He yelled back.

"You keep talking to yourself people are gonna think you're crazy." Oscar said.

"Really…"

"I wasn't talking to you!"

Rager decided not to pursue the matter any further, and he approached the group from the freighter.

"Is this all of you? The manifest said there was at least 30."

"Yeah, well… Apparently, murderers like murdering. Who would've thought?" Fluffee exclaimed.

"I see… Well then, which one of you is Scott?"

"… Why do you want him? There something going on between you two?" Niki said, imagining a Rager/Scott pairing and bouncing.

"What? No. He's the one who called you guys in, so he must have a few suspects. Now, where is he?"

"In a bodybag." Fritz said bluntly.

"But if it makes you feel better, we have a suspect of our own." Flippy quickly interrupted, eager to get this over with.

"Good news and bad news, then. Lead the way."

Rager, Flippy, Len and Sparky all headed to the holding cells, again stepping over DJ.

--------------

"You still don't have concrete evidence!"

"We know, Sparky. But he's the only suspect we have, and Rager here will probably want to ask him a few questions."

"But he's innocent!"

"Oh for the love of god- Sparky, shut the hell up!" Len practically screamed. Sparky huffed and crossed her arms.

"They always like this?" Rager whispered to Flippy. For his part, Flippy shrugged. Then he stopped.

"We're here." Flippy pushed the door open… And recoiled at the sight of Sniffle's body.

"SNIFFLES!"" Sparky screamed, and ran towards Sniffle's corpse. No-one attempted to stop her.

"No… No!" She cried, holding Sniffle's blood soaked body.

"His, er, ass appears to be leaking." Len awkwardly pointed out.

----------------

"So what's there to do in a place like this?" Pike asked Crack, Oscar and Ruffy.

"Well… There's a couple of Bars…" Ruffy started. Drifty's ears perked up.

"A strip club or two…" Crack continued. Half the group took notes.

"A walk-in aquarium…" Oscar drawled, enclincting a "FUCKNG GODAMNIT!" from DJ.

"There's actually a great deal you can do here. Once you fi- Hey, Rager's back!"

Indeed, Rager was back. He wasted little breath saying 'hi' to anyone, and immediately went to his fellow officers.

"Everyone here is a suspect. Let them explore the island for a bit, we've got work to do." He then turned to the freighter guests. "Alright, me and these three are going to go take some safety precautions. I suggest you all go explore the island."

"TO THE STRIP CLUB!" Sikks shouted gleefully. This was followed by raucous cheering and a stampede of horny HTFs marching… In the wrong direction.

"Where's Sparky?" Spades asked.

"I think she's still on the boat." Pike replied. The two looked back at the boat, where if you listened closely you could hear the sobs of anguish.

"Who cares? I need a beer." Drifty said, roughly pushing past them. All that was left at the pier was DJ (still hugging the ground) and CrayZee (who was sleeping standing up.)

-------------

"Rager to Crack: Do you hear me out there man?" Rager asked into the walkie talkie. There was a short pause, then a response.

"_Crack back to Rager: I hear you loud and clear, man."_

"OH YEAH MAN!" Ruffy and Oscar shouted like a choir. Rager ignored them.

"You're signal's weak on my radar screen. How far out are you man?"

"_I'm pretty far out."_

"THAT'S PRETTY FAR OUT, MAN!"

"Stop shouting Flight of the Conchords songs. Crack, how's the camera set up coming along?"

"_Should be just about done, check your screen now."_

Ruffy looked at the screen filled with static. Almost immediately, the static fizzled out into a view of Crack with his thumbs up.

"It's working, man!" Rufy shouted to Rager.

"Nice work, Crack. Come back any time now." Rager said through the walkie talkie.

"Hey, uh guys? What's that?" Oscar said squinting at the monitor. He was pointing to a dark shape approaching Crack, who was still looking into the camera. This dark shape was holding a long scythe.

"Oh shit- CRACK, BEHIND YOU!" Rager shouted through the radio. Crack's face became a mixture of surprise and confusion, and he promptly turned around just as the dark figure sung the scythe at his face. Crack reactively ducked, and the scythe struck the camera, sending the screen into static.

* * *

_Well. Good reflexes, I must admit. Clearly not good enough, as evidenced by his one remaining ear._

_Crack –odd name, but names aren't important in the end – clutched a hand to the side of his head, where his ear once was. I took this opportunity to swing the scythe down at him again, but the rabbit bastard moved. He rolled out of the way and grabbed his baton. He made a wild swing at me, but I'm better than that._

_I easily avoided the blow and punched him in the throat. Crack went down like a sack of potatoes. He gasped for air, and reached for the baton. I swung the scythe and chopped off his hand._

_Crack let out an ungodly yell. That must've been his jacking off hand._

_One quick slash across the throat and the yelling stopped. Crack's head slowly rolled away, and his body collapsed where it was. Blood slowly leaked out of his exposed neck, and I picked up the head and studied it. It was forever frozen in an expression of pain and terror. Lovely._

_I stuck the head on my scythe and walked away. That was fun._

-------------------

Sorry if it seemed rushed. I'm going away for a bit and I won't be able to update. Review if you want to.


	9. From me, to you

HOLY FUCK. Has it really been that long since I last updated? Jeez. Well, sorry for the wait. I've moved recently, and when I re-booted my computer, I discovered that it had deleted VIRTUALLY EVERYTHING. All my Bloody Vengeance chapters, all the side-projects I was working on, EVERYTHING. And it doesn't help that DJ (He's my writing muse, btw) is annoying the shit out of me with more story ideas then I need. Jeez.

Well, after an all-too-long wait, I present to you another chapter of Bloody Vengeance.

* * *

"Okay, so we've read all the files on these guys?" Rager asked, calmly sipping a cup of coffee. Both Ruffy and Oscar nodded.

"We've reviewed all known history about them?"

Another set of nods.

"We've retrieved Crack's body?"

Pause… Then a shaking of the head.

"We can't find his head." Ruffy said.

"Oh, Crack." Oscar sighed. "How you never listened to us. How you always had those earphones in. How you personally checked drug evidence by tasting them. How you jacked off in Rager's police car…"

"Oh dear god, no…"

"Ha, just kidding, dude. Crack never jacked off in your car."

"Phew…" Rager leant back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"… He actually jacked off onto your chair." Oscar grinned, then ducked when said chair was thrown his way.

* * *

"Hey, DJ! We're going for a walk, wanna come?" Pike shouted over at the aquaphobic cat. DJ, having stopped hugging the ground to look out at the island, pondered a bit before replying.

"Whose 'we'?"

"Uh, me, Spades, Sparky, Niki, Fluffee, and probably CrayZee. Saftey in numbers, man."

"Hard to be safe with a fucking physco around." DJ muttered.

"Pardon?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll come."

"Great, we're leaving in 5 minutes, grab whatever you need."

DJ nodded, and started looking around for his satchel. Pike turned to Sparky.

"You feeling okay? I mean, after Sniffle's… passing on, I thought-"

"No, no… I'm okay." Sparky replied, eyes still watery. "I just… Wanna get away from here."

* * *

"Moving on from Crack's activities, have you got some idea of who the killer might be?" Rager asked, now sitting in a new chair.

Ruffy and Oscar nodded to each other, and Ruffy quickly brought up a PowerPoint presentation up on the viewing screen. Oscar picked up a long pointer (out of nowhere, might I add) and pointed at the screen.

_The Broadshore Butcher and You  
Separating your friends from your murderers._

"Is the cheesy music necessary?"

"Ssssh! Here's the best bit…"

_Designed by Oscar and Ruffy of the Broadshore Island Police force._

Oscar and Ruffy cheered for themselves and bowed to each other. Rager resisted the urge to smack his team into next Tuesday.

_So a boat full of suspects and murderers has arrived at your post? Never fear, us at Oscruff co-_

"Oscruff? Oscar, I told you Ruffcar sounds better!"

"Shut up!"

_-Are here to help you narrow down your list of suspects until you're quite sure you've got the murderer. Let's take a close look at the most likely suspects, shall we?_

Up came up a list of names: All the passengers and crew on the ship. Some are already crossed out due to them being, well, dead. Others are crossed out because there is NO WAY IN FUCKING HELL THE COULD BE THE MURDERER, example Cub.

_We've taken the liberty of eliminating some suspect because of many reasons – namely, their dead. So let's start, shall we?_

_**Flippy**__: Has evil murderous side, but that evil side (cleverly named 'Evil') hasn't been seen in a while._

_**Flaky**__: GF of Flippy. Shy, timid, and overall very quiet. You know what they say about the quiet ones, don't you?_

_**Cuddles**__: Normal guy… Normal relationship… Normal life… That would be a nice disguise for a SERIAL KILLER!_

_**Giggles**__: GF of Cuddles. Could probably help out her boyfriend with murders._

_**Lumpy**__: Quite possibly the dumbest thing that ever walked. Maybe he's so dumb he doesn't know right from left… Erm, wrong?_

_**Shifty/Lifty**__: They're like twins or something. Twins that stay together, kill together. The also have a criminal history, but not for murder._

_**Nutty**__: Hyperactive, sugar-craving freak. Will probably do anything for sugar. ANYTHING._

_**Handy**__: He's "unarmed"… No, literally. The bastard hasn't got any arms. I suppose he could, I dunno, headbutt them the death._

_**Disco Bear**__: C'mon! The suit alone screams 'paedophile!'_

_**Pop**__: A father would do anything for his son, short of sexual favours._

_**Sparky**__: If I understand correctly, she has cool electrical powers… And if I recall correctly, Scott Winters was electrocuted…_

_**Pike**__: Loner. Smart. Those two attributes together mix into a potential killer._

_**Drifty**__: He drinks. Excessively. Can probably kill in a drunken rage._

_**Fritz**__: He looks like a hobo. Hobos are evil. 2 plus 2 is 4._

_**Sikks**__: Womanizer? Or failure? You make the call._

_**Fluffee**__: Yes, that's his real name. Must've sucked growing up with that name. Revenge is a good motivator._

_**Spades**__: Erm… Well… Um… How about… He has a sister… Very protective of her? Christ, we don't know. We got nothing on him._

_**CrayZee**__: Do we even need a reason? C'mon, it's called CrayZee for crying out loud!_

_**Niki**__: She's, like, always happy. Must be on anti-depressants._

_**DJ**__: You ever watch Lost? You ever see that creepy Ben Linus guy on the show, and he's like a lying, manipulating, conniving, yet totally awesome dude? Yeah, he's like him. Except much cuter._

"… Cuter?"

"Hey, it was either that one paragragh or a whole slide dedicated to him."

"Who the hell is Ben Linus? I don't watch Lost."

"BLASHPHEME!"

_Thank you for viewing our presentation. Please empty your trash into the nearest bin and/or toilet. Oscruff inc, 2010._

The presentation finished, Oscar and Ruffy took 'center stage' and had a very over-the –top bowing session. 3 minutes later, when both had finished bowing, they turned to their commanding officer.

"So, what do you think?"

* * *

"You two have WAY too much time on your hands."

"He DID say there was a strip club somewhere here, right?"

"I dunno. He might've said 'kip truck.' I don't know, I wasn't even listening!"

"Figures." Disco rolled his eyes and marched/jiggled away from Drifty. He approached the 'leader' of the group, Sikks, and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yo, SikkyBoy. You got any idea where you going? Just because it seems that we passed that tree a while back."

"You think this place looks familiar?"

"Oh, hell yeah. Look, there's my favourite leaf."

Sikks stopped and turned towards the rest of their group. "Alright, whose got the map?" He shouted.

Predictably, nobody answered. Sikks tapped his foot impatiently, but not Disco, Drifty, Fritz, Lumpy, Shifty, Lifty, Handy, Pop or even Cub answered.

Yes, you read that right.

Lumpy slowly raised his hand.

"I know I'm going to regret this, but… Yes, Lumpy?"

"I made a paper chicken, then tried to give to the Handy, but Handy doesn't have any arms, and Handy said I was the reason he believes in Hell. I told him there was no such place as Paris, then he started pulling his hair out and screaming-"

"I CAN FEEL MY BRAIN TURNING INTO MUSH!" Fritz yelled with his paws over his ears.

"Funny, that's exactly what he said." Lumpy murmured.

"So, does this mean we're lost?" Lifty said, his eyes staring to go wide with fear. Shifty rolled his eyes and patted his brother on the back, adding an unconvincing "There, there" for good measure.

Handy facepalmed (as much as you can facepalm without any palms) and looked around at the group. Obviously fed up with the lack of… Well, lack of anything, Handy shouted:

"SHUT THE FUCK UP OR I WILL CASTRATE YOU ALL WITH A BLUNT OBJECT!"

Naturally, everyone shut up. The group trudged on, no-one talking in fear of castration via blunt object.

Which is why nobody noticed when Lumpy disappeared.

* * *

"So where we going, Spademan?" Niki skipped along with the group as they trekked through the forest.

"Spademan? What the- Oh, right. I… Don't know. You'll have to ask Pike about it. He's got the map." Spades pointed to Pike, the leader of the group, who was discussing with Sparky on wether they should go west, or southwest, or turn around altogether.

"I'm telling you, we have to go direct west for the easiest route."

"Easiest? How about the fastest?"

"Look, Sparky, need I remind you that there is a crazed killer on the loose who won't hesitate to sn-"

"Hey Pikester!" Niki appeared next to Pike.

"Pikester?"

"See, I was just wondering, is there, like, a place we're headed? Just because tromping through the forest isn't as fun as it started out to be."

"Oh, yeah. Me & Sparky have discussed the safest yet most entertaining places to visit, and we've decided that we're going to the aquarium."\

"Wait, what?" DJ interrupted. "Aquarium? You didn't say anything about that before."

"Huh? Oh, I didn't think it mattered."

"Mattered? Of course it fucking matters! I'm not sure how they do it back in… Wherever the fuck you come from, but I appreciate it when you let me know you're walking us right into a death trap!"

"Death trap… Sounds fun." Mumbled CrayZee.

"Shut up, physco. Go chop down a tree or something." DJ snapped. CrayZee frowned, then smiled, then walked off to do just that.

"Alright, let's all just keep calm, okay?" Spades attempted to restore peace in the group. "DJ, you can go back to the pier if you want, but the rest of us are going to the aquarium."

"Why? What's so important that you have to go to an underwater dungeon?"

"It's better than standing around waiting to be killed." With that final remark, Spades turned and continued walking. After a short pause, Niki, Sparky, Pike, Fluffee, and CrayZee (now covered in wood chippings and smiling happily) followed.

"Fucking godamnit. Wait up." And DJ followed them.

So now the group was Pike, Sparky, and Spades in the lead (again arguing on wether to go west or southwest) closely followed by Niki and CrayZee (this time arguing on what would happen if one were to eat a running chainsaw). Bringing up the rear was Fluffee and DJ.

"Soooooooooo…" Fluffee said, enlarging the 'so' to emphasise the importance of the next comment. "You had, like, a schitz attack back there."

"I don't wanna talk about it." DJ roughly replied.

"I mean, all trip you're Mr. Smoothie, and just then you were all Mr… Not… Smoothie."

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"You looked… dare I say it… Scared."

"What part of 'I don't wanna talk about it' isn't getting through to you?"

"I've never seen you scared, dude. Either you know something we don't, or…"

"This conversation is not happening."

"You're scared of water."

"Okay, fine. I admit. I can't swim. I'm scared of water. Dead bodies, I can stand. The constant threat of being horribly murdered, I can cope with. Hell, if you held a gun to my head right now I wouldn't even blink. But you put me in a room with water in it and I panic. Drowning scares the fuck out of me. So I'm sorry, if this confession totally changes your opinion of me, but I can't stand water. Happy?"

The expression on Fluffee's face did not look happy at all. It looked like a mixture of confusion and blankness. As did Sparky's, Pike's, Niki's, and Spade's. CrayZee face remained the same (a mixture of amusement and insanity.)

"What?"

"… Nothing. Let's keep moving, by this rate we should be there in 20 minutes."

Before any of them could take another step forward, the bushes in front of them rustled. The group took a cautionary step back, and DJ picked up a rock.

The bushes rustled once more, and out walked…

Lumpy.

"Hi, guys! I got lost from the other group, and I found you guys! Isn't that great?"

Lumpy was greeted with silence, and a rock to the face courtesy of DJ.

* * *

"Where's everyone else gone?" Petunia asked. She and everyone else who stayed behind had opted to just sunbathe. This included herself, Giggles Cuddles, Flippy, and Flaky.

"One group's heading over to a strip club, but they went in the wrong direction. The rest went… I don't know where they went, but who cares?" Giggles replied, sunbathing in nothing but- Well, let's face it. Basicly nothing. IF she was out in a public place dressed (and I use the word 'dressed' lightly here) like that she would be fined for indecent exposure. Even though I doubt any straight male cop would actually stop her… Just continue ogling at her… Maybe take some pictures for evidence…

I'm ranting again, aren't I? Whatever. You get the point.

"So… What should we do?" Flaky asked. At this point I guarantee at least 1% of people reading this are shouting at the monition "SEX ORGY SEX ORGY" repeatedly.

"We could have a sex orgy." Cuddles suggested. Obviously Cuddles is temporarily representing that previous 1%. This idea was shot down by a combined stare by Flaky, Petunia, and Giggles.

"Or not." Cuddles quietly whispered.

* * *

"… So after I bent the corner of the map sideways, I twisted it around and, lo and behold, it was a duck! And another thing…" Lumpy went on and on and on about shit no-one cares about. This, naturally, was getting on the nerves of everyone.

"Why won't he shut up?" Pike mumbled. Sparky didn't answer, for she has discovered a way to block out Lumpy's rants! It's called earplugs.

"Oh, yes. I can visualize the duct tape now." DJ said, visualizing just that on Lumpy. "In fact, that's an astoundingly good idea. All in favour of duct taping Lumpy's mouth shut?"

"AYE!" Shouted Pike, Spades, Sparky, Fluffee, CrayZee, Niki, and Lumpy.

"All opposed?"

"Nay!" Shouted Lumpy.

"It's settled, then. Hold still, Fucktard." DJ got some duct tape out of his satchel and taped Lumpy's mouth shut. "This is defiantly one of the happiest days of my sad, miserable, pathetic, life." DJ finished, and proudly observed his master piece.

_

* * *

_

And to think, if any of them had looked up, they would've seen me from above, deciding which to kill next.

* * *

5 minutes later.

"You know… Lumpys been awfully quiet." Niki mused. DJ chuckled.

"That's the best part of it."

"Uh… Guys?" Fluffe said, looking back. "Lumpys, like, gone."

"What?" Spades said, as the entire group turned around. Indeed, Lumpy was no longer with them.

"We have to find him." Pike said.

"He's probably off chasing a butterfly." DJ muttered.

"LUMPY!"

"LUMPY!"

"LUMPY!"

"FUCKTARD!"

"LUMPY!"

"MORON!"

_

* * *

_

Hacking away at the throat of the moose, who name is either Lumpy or Fucktard, I couldn't help but muse on how the others treated him. On one hand, they seemed genuinely concerned about his whereabouts. Yet, on the other hand, before he went missing they seemed perfectly content with duct taping his mouth shut.

_That is a lovely trick. I must use that next time._

_Ah, enough contemplating for now. The moose's head now resembles wet playdough. One last thing, though, then I'll return him…_

* * *

"Okay, he maybe an annoying idiot, but we need to spread out and search for him." Fluffee said. "Niki, Pike, CrayZee, that way! DJ, Sparky, Spades, look-"

A crashing sound came from above, and Fluffee looked up just in time to get landed on by something resembling Lumpy and red playdough.

"Nevermind, found him." Fluffee struggled to crawl out from underneath the now-obviously-dead-moron, but found he was now stuck underneath the mixture of Lumpy, sticky blood and something that was beeping.

"I'm kinda stuck, here… Halp." Fluffee wiggled again.

"You hear that?" Niki asked.

"Yeah… It sounds like… Beepings." Spades pondered. "Where's it coming from?"

"Uh, yeah. You guys just stand around listening for beeps. I'll just wait here, slowly getting crushed by what's left of Lumpy." Fluffee muttered.

"Hey, uh, guys? Is it just me, or does Lumpy's chest have a countdown timer on it?" Sparky pointed out. Sure enough, an electronic time was attached to Lumpy's chest, counting down…

_00:20_

_00:19_

_00:18_

Also attached to the timer was what looked like a small yellow brick.

"Guys, that's enough C4 to blow us all to hell." DJ noted.

_00:16_

"Oh, shit."

* * *

Can somebody say cliff-hanger?

*crickets chirp*

See you next time, review if you want to, blah blah blah, yadda yadda yadda.

Laterz.

~ DJ.


	10. The Aftermath

Let's get right into it with chapter 10, The Aftermath.

_

* * *

_

00:16

"Holy shit, what do we do?" Spades panicked.

"What do you do? You defuse the bomb and save my life, that's what you have to do!" Fluffee was nearly panicking, thrashing about in an attempt to escape from underneath the dead Lumpy + bomb. But every time he moved a jolt of pain was sent up his leg.

_00:15_

"We can defuse it, right? Just like in the movies, right?" Niki asked, a mask of concern spread across her face.

"Nope. It takes time in real life." DJ calmly noted, bending down to note the many wires prodding from the C4. "Time we obviously don't have. Our best chance would be to try and pull him out."

_00:14_

"No, you can't! Something's jammed into my leg! It hurts every time I move it!" Fluffee cried. "It's like a jagged stick, or something!"

"Must be part of Lumpy's spine." Pike pondered, then looked to DJ. "Hope you got a plan B."

_00:13_

DJ smiled. "Indeed I do." Then, above Fluffee's cries of 'WTF DO YOU MEAN LUMPY'S SPINE IS STABBING ME?' he turned to CrayZee. "You still got your chainsaw?"

CrayZee grinned. "Fuckin' A." And whipped out her chainsaw.

_00:12_

"Alright, here's the plan." DJ clapped his hands together and pointed to each one. "Sparky, Niki, you grab Lumpy's legs and pull. Spades, you do the same with his arms. Pike, you and me are going to grab Fluffee's arms and start pulling when I say so."

"What the fuck do I do?" CrayZee asked, revving the chainsaw.

_00:10_

"CrayZee, this is very important. You are going to use your chainsaw to cut through Lumpy enough so we can pull Fluffee free. BUT." DJ held up a finger to emphasise the importance of the instructions. "Do not go too far. Lumpy's body is resting right on top of Fluffee's spine, if you cut one millimetre too far you could risk paralysing him. Got that?"

"No pressure, or anything." Niki added. CrayZee nodded and set to work sawing through Lumpy's body.

_00:09_

_00:08_

_00:07_

CrayZee was halfway…

_00:06_

Spades, Niki, and Sparky pulled extra hard…

_00:05_

Fluffee silently prayed…

_00:04_

The chainsaw was millimetres from the end of Lumpy…

_00:03_

With a meaty snap, Lumpy's body ripped in half, freeing Fluffee and showering him with insides at the same time.

"Okay, that's it, He's free, let's go!" Pike shouted. Spades, Sparky, and Niki all dropped whatever parts of Lumpy they were holding and ran. CrayZee hesitantly backed off, before turning around and sprinting too.

"Aaah…" Fluffee breathed as Pike and DJ helped him to his feet. "Ow, that hurts…" A small dribble of blood made it's way down Fluffee's leg, as he hastily got to his feet.

_00:02_

"C'mon…" Pike and DJ grabbed one of Fluffee's arms and started dragging him away from the carcass bomb.

_00:01_

"Are we far enough yet?" Pike shouted, dragging Fluffee as fast as he could. DJ shook his head.

"No,." DJ replied. "We need to be at least 15 meters from the bomb to be completely safe. Right now we're at 5 met-"

At that moment, the bomb timer reached zero, and exploded.

* * *

"Guys, I'm beginning to think there is no strip club."

"Why would a federal officer of the law lie to us?"

"You just said why."

"Wha- Oh, I see what you did there…"

Handy rolled his eyes and ignored the Lifty/Shifty exchange. Well, this trip was a waste of effort.

"Dad, I'm bored." Cub moaned.

"Me too, son. Me too." Pop replied.

Handy stood away from the group, looking out in the direction they came from. Behind him, all those who had followed were talking amongst each other.

A hand clapped on his back. "We all got our hopes up for nothing." Sikks said. "Better luck next time, eh?"

"I-"

The sound of an explosion ripped through the air, immediately followed by a heat wave. Everyone shielded their eyes from the heat, and squinted in the direction of the blast.

"Woah…" Drifty said. Then he started heading towards the area where the boom came from.

"Yeah, that's a great idea, go TOWARDS the explosion." Sikks said, but followed anyway.

* * *

"Do you think I look like a slut in this?" Giggles asked, motioning towards her bathing suit.

Cuddles took a long, hard look at Giggle's 'bathing suit', (really, it was closer to birthday suit) and shook his head.

"You could wear anything and it'll look great!" He responded, letting his sex drive do the talking for him.

"There they go again." Petunia rolled her eyes. "Can't they keep their hands off each other for ten minutes?"

"Apperantly not." Flaky replied.

A loud rumbling shook the ground. Flippy's drink wobbled then sloshed over, spilling its contents on Cuddles. Then, as quickly as it started, it was gone.

"Was that an earthquake?"

"I hope not, that was… Flippy?"

Flippy looked inland at the rising cloud of fire and smoke. "Woah."

* * *

Fluffee slowly opened his eyes. Blurry. Everything... Blurred. And hot. It was so very hot.

He tilted his head and looked at his arm, which seemed redder than before. Red and yellow flames licked at his arm, and the intense heat got... Intense...er.

Fluffee realized what was happening. His shirt sleeve was on fire.

He weakly waved his arm around, then just ripped the sleeve with the fire off and threw it away.

_Still got... Half... A shirt._ He thought triumphantly. He tried to get up, but fell flat on his face. _Damnit._

He dragged himself onto his back and looked down at his legs. _Okay, okay, what's wrong here? Left leg: Looking nice, healthy, very sexy if I may say so myself. Right leg: Scarred, bloody, large gash cut down the middle. Definitely a turn-off._

Fluffee looked around for anyone else, seeing nothing but trees and fire. With nothing else to do, he laid back and waited for help to come.

* * *

Sparky and Niki were the first ones to run for the hills. So it was surprising that even when they were father than the others when the bomb exploded, they still felt the heat.

The two turned around and gazed at the fiery explosion in awe. They stood there for several seconds, not believing what they were seeing.

"Is… Is it over?"

"I don't know, I don't usually play with explosives…"

"Do… Do you think the others are okay?"

"Well, Spades ran when we did, CrayZee probably started running too… Pike, Fluffee, and DJ I'm not too sure of…"

"… Should we go look for them?"

"Yeah."

A sudden rustling in the bushes behind them caught their attention. Sparky indistinctively grabbed a rock off the ground and threw it.

"Ah, bitch!" Drifty scowled, rubbing his now-injured arm. "The hell was that for?"

"Whose a bitch?" A voice behind Drifty said. Sikks stepped out of the bushes, took a quick glance at Drifty, then his eyes shot to Sparky and Niki.

"Hello, ladies. I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Sikks said, letting a perverse smile spread across his face.

Another thrown rock wiped that smile off his face.

* * *

"You guys see that?"

"You mean the fiery explosion? Nah, missed it. OF COURSE WE FUCKING SAW IT! GET THE POLICE CAR AND GET DOWN THERE!" Rager shouted, grabbing his standard police pistol. Oscar grabbed a sub-machine gun, and Ruffy took a pump-action shotgun.

"LET'S GO!" Rager shouted, then added "I call driver."

"Damnit!" Oscar and Ruffy said at the same time.

* * *

Pikes ears hurt.

The sheer loudness of the explosion hurt his ears. Everything sounded muffled and he was pretty sure his ear was bleeding.

Quick check: Yep, his ear was bleeding.

"Hey!" Pike shouted, but again his voice sounded muffled. "Anyone!"

He could hardly hear a thing.

* * *

"So where are the others?" Niki asked Drifty as the group of four trekked towards the blast site.

"Oh, they went back to town. Or started looking for Lumpy." Drifty answered.

"Lumpy?"

"Yeah, he disappeared halfway through the trip, and we haven't found him." Sikks chimed in, staying well away from Sparky and her rocks.

"We have." Sparky bluntly replied.

Before Sikks could inquire upon the whereabouts of Lumpy, someone stumbled upon their path.

"Oh, thank god. You guys, I haven't seen anyone else since the explosion, have you seen them?" Pike asked.

"No, sorry, but we'll keep an eye out for them."

"What? I can't hear you, the blast damaged my ear." Pike shouted.

"You shout any louder and you'll damage our ears!" Drifty yelled.

"What?"

"I said, 'loser says what?'"

"What?"

"Exactly."

* * *

Fluffee nearly drifted off to sleep, when he heard the voices. The voices saying insults and 'what' repeatedly.

"Hey… You guys!" He yelled, and attempted to crawl towards them. Another jolt of pain in his leg discouraged that idea.

"Fluffee, that you?" A voice shouted back. Relief flooded through Fluffee.

"Yeah! I can't walk!"

"Hold tight, we're coming!"

Fluffee leant back and relaxed. What else could he do?

* * *

Spades was lost.

Spades was in trouble.

Spades had a knife pinned to his throat right now.

"Hello, Spades." A dark voice said.

* * *

"_It's nice to finally have a chance to talk to you." I said, and the fox struggled. I raised the knife closer to his throat, and he stopped._

"_I was hoping we could just have a little talk, but if you keep thrashing it'll be the last thing you'll ever do."_

"… _O-okay…" Spades said. "What do you want to talk about?"_

_I smiled. "Let's talk about your sister."_

_Spades stiffened. "What do you know about Laces?"_

"_I know she has obsessive-compulsive disorder. I know she had a scary dream before you left and refused to join the boat trip. And I know you'd do anything to ensure her safety."_

_He struggled again, so I held the knife closer to his throat. A small bead of blood leaked out, and he stopped struggling._

"_W-why are you telling me this?"_

"_You've seen what I'm capable of, haven't you?"_

_Spades every-so-slightly nodded._

"_Then you are going to do a few jobs for me."_

"_Why would I help you?"_

"_Because, Spades. If you do not do as I say, I'm going to hurt Laces. I am going to kill her. Very slowly. And it will be all your fault. Do you want that on your conscience?"_

_No reply._

"_Right. Here's your first job…"_

* * *

"Nice to see ya, Fluffers." Niki said, helping her friend up.

"Same here. Anyone got a band-aid?" Fluffee asked, motioning towards his bleeding leg.

"Nope. We'll have to use the next best thing." Sparky then grabbed the remaining sleeve of Fluffee's jacket and ripped it off. Amid protests of 'if you're going to strip me I need at least $10 up front' she tied the sleeve around Fluffee's bleeding leg.

"That'll have to do until we can get to a proper medical facitity." Sparky said. "We'd better look for CrayZee, Spades and DJ. No matter how crazy or sarcastic they can be, I can't leave anyone behind."

"Fair enough." Niki said. "Knowing CrayZee, she's probably admiring the blast area. Let's go look over there first."

"Sounds like a plan."

True to Niki's prediction, CrayZee was standing at the rim of the crater that used to be Lumpy. Slowly singing 'Catch a Falling Star.'

_"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,_  
_Save it for a rainy day…"_

This is some creepy shit right here.

_"Catch a falling star and put it in your pocket,_  
_Never let it get away…"_

This is the nursery rhyme of hell. Luckily Niki found her and hugged her before she could get to the next verse.

"WE FOUND YOU!" She squealed with delight. CrayZee grunted a relpy.

"Great, the gangs back together! Can we go now?" Drifty asked.

"No way! DJ & Spade's still missing!" Fluffee answered, leaning on a makeshift crutch for support.

* * *

"Okay, I'm fairly sure it's this way back to town." Fritz said, pointing north.

"No way, Nazi. It was this way!" Pop pointed east.

While Pop and Fritz argued, Handy was banging his head against a rocky wall, repeating the words 'retards, everywhere' over and over again.

"Maybe we should've followed Sikks and Drifty." Disco said.

"Of course, go running towards an explosion. Makes perfect sense. While we're at it, why not headbutt a bullet?" Fritz replied.

Meanwhile, Lifty and Shifty just sat and talked to each other. Mostly it was Shifty telling tales to his brother, but it helped pass the time.

"And the mighty Prince said to the King: 'You, sir, are a douche.' And the King replied: 'A douche is a hygienic product. I take that as a compliment."

Lifty laughed, causing Shifty to smile.

* * *

"_You want me to do what?" Spades said in disbeleif._

"_A few klicks up north, your friends are lost. You're going to give them this, it'll help them get to where they need to."_

"_For a moment there I though you would've wanted me to kill someone."_

_I smiled a sick, evil smile. A look of fear returned on Spade's face, as I explained exactly what Spades was to do…_

* * *

"Spades! Desmond! You guys?" Niki shouted. "Guys?"

"Who the hell is Desmond?" Drifty roughly questioned.

"That's DJ's real name." Fluffee replied, limping on his makeshift crutch. "You don't think his parent actually called him DJ, did you?"

Before Drifty could reply, a shout from Sparky caught their attention.

"Hey, I found him!"

The group approached Sparky, who was all alone. Fluffee looked around for his friend, but it was in vain.

"You said you found him." He said. A small drop of liquid landed on Fluffee's shoulder, and he tried to brush it off. He stopped when he saw it was blood.

Everyone tilted their head up, and there, unconsciously laying on some of the thin branches, not moving at all, was DJ.

* * *

"Can't you go any faster?" Ruffy requested.

"Nope! I'm going as fast as this thing will allow me!" Rager shouted back, taking his eyes away from the road for a split second.

The car thumped against something, and Rager immediately hit the brakes.

"… Did we just hit someone?" Oscar asked.

"BASTARDS!" A voice in front of the car shouted.

"Yeah. I think we did."

Rager, Ruffy, and Oscar exited the car, leaving their weapons inside. Rager bent down in front of the car and offered a hand to the unfortunate victim.

"Are you oka-"

"FUCK OFF!" A hand firmly pushed him away. Len got up from the ground and dusted himself off.

"Watch where you're going next time, prick!" He shouted, then walked away.

The three cops stood in silence.

"…He needs some anger management." Ruffy said. The others nodded and all got back in the car.

* * *

"How did he get all the way up there?" Sikks wondered aloud.

"The force of the blast must've thrown him all the way up there." Pike said, having finally got his hearing back in order."Must've been one hell of an explosion."

"So how do we get him down?" Niki asked.

"We could throw stuff at him." Drifty suggested.

"Nono, someone has to climb up there and carry him down." Fluffee said.

"You offering?"

"Dude, in case you haven't noticed, my leg is bleeding to death."

"I'll go up." Sparky settled the matter, and grasped the tree trunk. With an encouraging look from the rest, she pulled herself up, grabbing a lowhanging branch for support.

It took several minutes, but eventually Sparky got up to a vantage point that was as close to the unconscious DJ as possible.

"Don't look down!" someone shouted from below.

Naturally, Sparky looked down.

"Woooah."

"Damnit, I said don't look down!" Sikks yelled. "I might've well said look at the ground." He said to the others.

Sparky shook her head, and turned her attention back to DJ. Now that see was close, she could see that DJ was in serious need of medical attention. One of the lens in his goggles was cracked, blood was leaking from his mouth, and a branch was impaled in his chest.

Sparky leant forward to ease DJ onto a safer branch, and in doing so learned that DJ was whispering in his unconsiousness.

"_Quare operor vos contemno mihi…_"

What. The. Hell.

"_Quis eram is ut eram sic nefassuper mihi…"_

"DJ." Sparky whispered, and prodded him. "DJ, you okay?"

"_Quis super mihi…_"

"I'm gonna get you down, okay?"

"_Commodo… Iustus vol out exsisto diligo…_"

"… Okay."

Sparky slowly reached a hand forward to one of the branches DJ was lying on. She put a tiny but of weight on it, and the branch promptly snapped. DJ was jerked down a meter towards the ground, and Sparky reminded herself that a fall from this height would surely kill DJ in his current state.

"Can someone come up here and help me?" She shouted to the group on the ground.

Nobody answered.

"Well, let's not all rush." Sikks sourly said, then started climbing up/

Several minutes later, Sikks had reached Sparky's height and took a look at DJ.

"Woah, shit. You sure he's not dead?" He said in disbelief.

"No, he's talking some weird language." Sparky replied, and motioned for Sikks to try to listen.

"_Vilis ut vulnero suus…_"

"What is he saying?" Sikks asked.

"I don't know. I think we should try to get him down first." Sparky replied.

"How?"

"You position yourself underneath him, I'll slowly lift him off the branches and pass him to you. Then you slowly shuffle down to the ground."

"Gotcha."

Sikks got into position underneath DJ, and looked up at him.

"You realize that there is a tree branch stuck between his ribs?"

"Yeah."

"You know that when we move him that branch is gonna spazz out and cause all sort of shit to his insides?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, just checking to make sure you knew what you were doing."

Sparky reached towards DJ, and grabbed his wrist. She tried to pull him towards Sikks, but the branch in his chest was connected to the tree. It was impossible to do this slowly.

So she impatiently yanked on his arm.

An unwise move.

The branch lodged in DJ's chest snapped, as did the few branches that were holding his weight. DJ shot down, Sparky lost her grip, and Sikks missed the catch. DJ's body sailed down, before landing with a loud thumb at the base of the tree.

"He okay?" Niki asked, and approached the body. Fluffee limped over too as Sparky and Sikks climbed down.

"DJ?"

No answer. DJ just kept lying face down.

"Desmond?"

Niki reached forward and gently pushed DJ onto his back. She then silently awed at the stick lodged in his chest.

Fluffee waved a hand in front of DJ's face. Almost no reaction. No- wait, wait…

DJ's eyes…

DJ was crying.

"HE'S ALIVE! SOMEONE HELP HIM UP!" Fluffee shouted, and Drifty immediately lunged forward and slung DJ over his shoulder.

"He needs medical attention! Where's the nearest building?" Fluffee yelled.

"The aquarium should have a first aid kit, it should just be a few minutes that way!" Pike said.

"Then what are we waiting for, let's go!"

* * *

While half the group was arguing about where they were, Disco was looking around bored. He was looking out in a clearing when something caught his eye.

A grey hand tossed a pinkish looking package out of the bushed.

Looking back at Pop and Fritz's argument (Cub was currently being entertained by some more of Shifty's stories) Disco though _fuck them_ and got up.

He approached the pinkish thing and in a short while stood above it. He tilted his head to a side, trying to believe what he was seeing.

It was a small baby doll, the kind of thing Cub would play with.

Disco bent down to pick it up, and the second he touched it was the last second of his life.

A metallic spear shot out of the doll's mouth, embedding itself in Disco's skull. The tip of the spear had a concentrated form of acid dipped on it, ensuring that is the spear struck a non-fatal area the acid would do the job. Disco collapsed onto the grass, the acid already melting his brain from the inside out.

* * *

This is the longest chapter I've ever written. And my fingers hurt from it.

For anyone wondering, DJ was speaking Latin while he was out cold.

See you next time, review if you want to.

~ DJ.


	11. Wheels in the Motion

HOLY FUCK. Has it really been that long since this was last updated? Jeez. I suppose I should explain what the fuck I was doing when I was meant to be concentrating this.

As some know, I needed surgery for a slipped disk in my spine. That alone set my chapters back a few. But that's not all, oh no. For when I get back from the doctors, what happens? The computer shat itself. Deleted EVERYTHING. All my Bloody Vengence chapters, all my side projects, all the DJ stories I was working on. (DJ wasn't too happy to hear that his story had been wiped from the face of the earth. As of right now, I have no fucking clue where he is.)

Excuses aside, here is the next chapter of Bloody Vengence. Let's hope it doesn't take that long to update next time.

* * *

Pike clapped his hands together and assumed leadership. "Guys, here's the plan. Firstly, Drifty, put DJ down. If you keep carrying him like that he'll die... probably."

"Of course. Never mind about a bomb explosion, a branch to the chest, and a 20 foot fall to the ground." Drifty muttered as he put DJ to the ground. "The real threat here is how we carry him."

"Whatever. Since carrying DJ in his current state is both dangerous and messy, I propose this:  
Sikks, CrayZee, you continue in the direction we were heading, to the aquarium, and see if you can find a first aid kit. Drifty, Niki, you go North and find Flippy. If there's anyone else who knows doctor stuff, Flippy'll know who. Sparky, Fluffee and I will stay here and see if we can help him. Any questions?"

There were several, but Pike took no notice.

"Let's get on with it, then!"

* * *

"It's just a little bit through this way... I think." Fritz said, and pushed through some bushes.

"Nazis don't think." Pop said from behind him.

"Again with the Nazi. You're like a broken record."

"Well... You're a Nazi."

"I rest my case."

Following them was Handy, who didn't seem all that concerned with Disco Bear's disappearence. Bringing up the rear was Lifty, Shifty, and Cub. Now, what would they be talking about?

"... So after you tie the blue wire with the red wire, hopefully the engine should start and you can make a clean getaway."

"Speaking of having a getaway vehicle, make sure it's got gas in the tank. Man, that was just embarrassing."

Cub absorbed all this information in his usual baby/toddler manner, and nodded his head gleefully.

"We have taught you well." Shifty said solemnly.

* * *

"Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty..." Niki bounced, repeating her companions name over and over again. For his part, Drifty resisted the urge to kick Niki into the sun.

"Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty..."

Although, that urge was growing at a very fast rate.

"Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty Drifty..."

And his patience had run out.

"Drifty-"

"WHAT?"

"... Hi."

You could hear Drifty's mind breaking.

* * *

Pike, Sparky, and Fluffee all exchanged worried glances. At their feet DJ had slipped back into unconsciousness, blood staining his pristine grey fur.

"So, uh... What can we do?" Fluffee asked, leaning on his makeshift crutch.

"Until the others come back?" Pike replied. "Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Well... Maybe there's something in his pack that could help." _Or make him more comfortable in death. _

"Then where would his pack be?" Sparky chimed in, pointedly avoiding eye contact with DJ's body.

"I assume it would be somewhere back in the explosion clearing. You wanna get it, Fluffee?"

"Dude, I can hardly walk. An-"

"I'll get it." Sparky volunteered. Before anyone else could object, she slipped away from the group and quickly headed to where Lumpy exploded.

In the clearing, at a 10 meter radius, there was a rather large crater, obviously where the bomb went off. In and around the crater, a mixture of dirt, rocks, blood, and body parts were spread around. Here and there some leaves were still burning. Sparky stepped over the rubble, and looked all around.

"Aha."

Over on the other side of the clearing, Sparky could see DJ's satchel next to a clump of reeds. Sparky took a step forward-

She felt someone's hands push in the direction of the crater.

Sparky fell, arms sprawled, and tumbled down the crater, crashing into a small pile of rocks.

"... Ow."

She raised her head, and stifled a scream. Sparky backed up, away from what looked like half of Lumpy's head. She unsteadily got to her feet, and looked around again.

"Well, this is... Disgusting."

Truer words have never been spoken.

Carefully avoiding all things disgusting, i.e. blood and bone and guts and, and... you get the idea. Carefully avoiding all that she made her way back up the other side of the crater, and to her relief found DJ's satchel less than a foot in front of her.

She bent over to pick it up, when she heard rustling from behind her...

She snapped up, DJ's satchel in hand, and looked around, readying her electrical powers in one hand...

* * *

"Where's Flippy gone?"

"Oh, you know how he is. Always gotta be the hero."

"He could save me any day." Giggles giggled seductively, and Flaky playfully made as if to slap her.

"Oh, Giggles! Don't you already have a boyfriend?"

"Cuddles is off doing whatever Cuddles does when I'm gone, and what can I say? I like to fu-"

"Giggles!" Petunia shouted in mock indignance. "That is not appropriable conversation!" She continued in a mock British accent. "But, then again," She added, speaking normally. "That isn't really appropriate clothing, so I suppose that trick won't work here.

"What do you mean it's not appropriate?"

"You're damn near naked." Flaky pointed out.

"Cuddles likes it this way!"

"Obviously."

"Hey, check this out!" Petunia reached over, and flicked the top half of Giggle's bathing suit. The flimsy bra simply fell apart.

"HEY!" Giggles covered her breasts with her arms. "Do you know how much that bikini cost?"

"Hopefully not a lot, otherwise you got screwed!"

"Like being screwed isn't new to her!"

Flaky and Petunia laughed, and despite being half naked Giggles joined in the laughter.

* * *

Spades trudged through the forest, ashamed with himself over the fact that he caused Disco Bear's death. Thankfully, the killer had let him go, saying that 'When I want you, I'll get you.'

Spades pushed through some more bushed, and beheld a sight that not many people would wish to see.

"Toothy? Why are you naked?"

Toothy screamed, and attempted to cover himself with a rock that was decidedly too small.

"Oh... Um... Why are you sweaty?" He countered, trying (and failing) to look natural..

"Um... I've been running?"

"... Yeah. Me also."

Though Spades doubted running would've ripped Toothy's clothes away, he nodded anyway. A somewhat awkward silence ensured again.

"Uh... It would be great if you didn't tell anyone you found me like this." Toothy said.

"Ooookay... but only if you don't tell anyone you saw me walk through here."

"Deal." Toothy held out a hand to shake, but couldn't hold the rock with one hand, and dropped it... On his own foot.

"Fuck!" The naked beaver hopped around the clearing, clutching his hurt foot with one hand whilst trying to conceal himself with the other. Spades decided now would be a good time to walk away, so he did.

* * *

"Where is she? His bag couldn't be that far." Pike couldn't hide his impatience, and Fluffee took a wary step/hop back from him.

"Know what? I'm going to go look for her. You stay and look after DJ." Without waiting for an answer, Pike stepped away, leaving Fluffee with the unconscious DJ.

"Uh, yeah. Don't bother asking for my opinion. I'm cool, hanging out with the dead guy." Fluffee glanced at DJ. "Just you and me now, mate."

A very awkward silence ensured.

Fluffee glanced at DJ again, then got an idea.

"Maybe you need some water."

Thank you, Einstein. Oblivious to the fact that his friend is UNCONSIOUS, AND THEREFORE CANNOT DRINK, Fluffee rooted around in his pack for a bottle of water. With a triumphant 'Aah!', Fluffee grabbed the water bottle and opened the lid.

"You don't mind if take a mouthful first, do you?"

DJ, being unconscious, said nothing.

"Cool." Fluffee raised the bottle to his lips, and-

A hand shot out and grabbed the front collar of Fluffee's jacket. Fluffee spat out the water in surprise and dropped the bottle, and nearly screamed.

The hand was attached to an arm, and that arm was attached to DJ, looking more deranged than ever, with his hair hanging down and one eye covered in blood.

"Don't trust him, you hear me? He is not who he says he is." DJ snarled, the hand holding Fluffee's collar twitching uncontrollably. "Do you understand?"

"DJ, you-"

"SAY IT! SAY YOU WON'T TRUST HIM!"

"Trust who?"

"He is not who he says he is..."

Now a lot more than creeped out, Fluffee turned out of DJ's grasp and screamed for the others...

* * *

"Sparky? Sparky! Where are ya?" Pike pushed through several bushes, and before he could shout again, a figure leapt out of the bushes and pretty much tackled him.

"... Pike?" Sparky asked, then quickly jumped back up. "What are you doing here?"

"You were taking too long, I thought I'd see what you were doing." Pike picked himself up and brushed the dirt from himself. "You got his bag?"

"Yeah, I got it... But I don't think we're alone."

"Sorry?"

"Someone pushed me into the crater, and I hear the bushes rustling, and-"

Before Sparky could continue, a scream from Fluffee's location filled the air.

"PIKE! SPARKY! COME QUICK! HE'S AWAKE!"

The two exchanged a quick glance, then ran back to Fluffee. They burst out of the bushes (scaring Fluffee even more) and stopped.

DJ was still unconscious.

"Uh..." Sparky pointed out the obvious. "He's not awake."

"No, he was awake!" Fluffee pointed to DJ, who was very obviously not awake. "He- He grabbed he! And said not to trust him!"

"... Him?"

"He didn't exactly say who."

"How convenient."

* * *

"So where was the explosion?" Ruffy asked his fellow officers of the law. Rager, who was currently driving, didn't answer, so Oscar took it upon himself to do it for him.

"Uh... That way?" Oscar pointed in the vague direction of west.

"I thought it was this way." Ruffy retorted, point north.

"Hey, dumb and dumber! Shut your pie holes, I'm trying to concentrate on the road!" Rager shouted, pointing a threatening finger at the two. Indeed, he was so distracted by shouting at his passengers that he didn't notice the figure running in front of his car.

THUNK.

"What is it with people stepping in front of my car today?" Rager sighed, and stepped out of the car.

"Sorry, you okay?"

"... Never... Better." Flippy eased himself up and checked himself. Slight bruising, but pretty good overall. "I assume you saw the explosion, too?"

"You assume correct."

"GUYS!"

Rager and Fippy turned to this new voice. Niki, looking rather tired, took a few minutes to catch her breath. Drifty approached from behind her.

"She's your problem now." He said, and catching attention of the nearest bar, he gleefully stepped away from the group and into the bar.

"Niki, what's up?" Rager asked the hyperactive wolf. Niki took a deep breath, and answered:

"Me, Sparky, CrayZee, Pike, Spades, DJ and Fluffee all went on a trip to the aquarium, and halfway we met Lumpy, but then someone killed Lumpy and made him blow up, and most of us are okay, but Fluffee's leg is hurt and DJ's impaled on a tree, and Drifty and Sikks showed up to help us, and Pike sent Sikks and CrayZee to the aquarium to find a first-aid kit, and sent me and Drifty to look for Flippy because if anyone knows a surgeon it'll be Flippy, and Pike, Sparky and Fluffee stayed behind to look after DJ, and... and..." Niki then took a deep breath, having said all the previous in one breath really fast.

Flippy and Rager exchanged glances.

"Did you understand a word she just said?"

"No. You?"

"Nope."

* * *

"Aaaaaaaaaaaand we're home!" Fritz pushed some last bushes out of the way, and beheld the main street of Broadshore Island.

"Well, I'll be damned. The Nazi actually helped us. Hell must be freezing over." Pop turned and motioned to his son. "C'mon, Cub."

With his head full of ideas on how to con Pop out of his money, Cub leapt into his fathers arms and nuzzled happily.

"I need a damn beer." Handy pushed past everyone else, and headed down the road, looking for a bar.

"I second that." Fritz said, following him.

Pop wandered off with Cub in his hands, in the opposite direction of Fritz, and Lifty & Shifty looked at each other.

"Now what?" Lifty asked.

"Weeeellllllll..." Shifty grinned, and held up a wallet. "I think Fritz wouldn't mind if we went out on the town with his wallet."

"Dude, awesome!" The two brothers hi-5'd, and each grinned.

"... So what should we spend it on?"

"... I don't know." The grin faded off of Shifty's face, as it did with Lifty's.

"We could spend it on candy." Lifty suggested, and the second those words came from his mouth, a bright green blur suddenly appeared next to him.

"I heard someone mention candy." Nutty said, the prospect of sugar causing him to bounce uncontrollably. The kleptomaniac brothers exchanged a quick glance, and shrugged.

"Alright, Nutty... Let's get some candy." And the three walked towards the candy store.

* * *

Thanks to a handy-dandy-voice-recorder, (in which Ruffy taped Niki's hurried speech and replayed it in slow motion) Flippy, Rager, Oscar and Ruffy now knew what Niki was talking about.

"So? Any doctors or surgeons you know?"

"Well... Yeah." Flippy hesitated. "But he won't be happy."

"Who?"

"Len."

_

* * *

_

I crouched in the bushes, and waited patiently. Before long, two distinct footsteps crunching through the grass, the voices filling the air.

"_... Look, CrayZee. All I want to know is whether it's okay to hit on you or not. So, are you a boy or a girl?"_

"_For the thousandth time, you fucktard, I'll tell you when I figure it out!"_

"_It can't be that hard to figure it out, I mean I just have to look at my crotch to remind myself if I'm male or female, surely it can't be that hard for you?"_

"_It's complicated. And don't call me Shirley."_

_Well, I know who I'm killing next._

* * *

"I didn't call you Shirley. I said 'Surely.'"

"Whatever, this conversation is over."

"But-"

"DO YOU WANT MY FUCKING CHAINSAW SHOVED UP YOUR FUCKING ASS?"

"... No."

"THEN SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

Before Sikks could retort, the bushes around them rustled. CrayZee snarled, sensing that something was wrong, and pulled out one of her chainsaws.

"Uh... I think I'll just run to the aquarium, if you don't mind." Sikks said, casting his eyes around the bushes. CrayZee gave a noncommittal grunt, and Sikks sped off.

_

* * *

_

People can run very fast when they're desperate, as demonstrated by Sikks there. This left me with... Whatever it was, CrayZee. I stepped out of the bushed, and raised my hands in a surrender motion.

"_Relax, okay? Just put the chainsaw down." To my dismay, she/he/it did not put down the chainsaw, instead raised it at my face._

"_What are you doing here?" CrayZee asked._

"_Pike sent me."_

_A look of confusion crossed her (screw it, I'm getting bored of typing 'it' over and over) face, and I took that opportunity to strike._

_Before she could raise her chainsaw even more, I had sprinted forward and levelled her with a hard left. Several teeth flew out of her mouth, and I kneed her in where her testicles would be, if she was male. CrayZee ducked under my next swing, and shoved the chainsaw between my legs, narrowly missing my manhood. I deftly avoided the blow, but before I could retaliate further she swept my legs out from under me with his foot. I landed hard on my back, and she quickly mounted me, chainsaw held high, about to strike-_

_I punched his in the face again, this time the nose broke. Amidst the gush of blood, I rolled off the ground and got to my feet. CrayZee had recovered too, and swung the chainsaw at me again. I swiftly jumped over the chainsaw and landed an elbow on her elbow, and smiled at the sound of bones snapping._

_She dropped the chainsaw, and I eagerly picked it up. CrayZee had one final moment of living, before I shoved the still-running chainsaw in her mouth, and as improbable as it sound, her head was ripped to shreds._

_Now that was a great test._

* * *

Again, I apoligise for the extremely late update. Hopefully it won't take this long next time, but there's still the matter of finding my DJ muse.

OHOH! ALMOST FORGOT. In case you haven't noticed, there's a poll set up on my profile, on which story I should do next. So far, _'Perception & Deception_' is currently the top story, followed by '_MORE DJ STORIES!'_ I didn't know DJ was that popular. Let's hope I find him before long, amiright?

'Til next time, Reveiw if you want to, I mean, I won't slit my wrists if you don't reveiw. BUT. If you do feel the urge to reveiw and reply, please do so.

~ DJ.


	12. The End of the Beginning

Woo, new chapter. =D

Several announcements:

**1**: Thanks to all those who voted in my poll (You thirteen people – you know who you are. Virtual hugs for all!). The winning story was a tie, between _Perception & Deception_, and _More DJ Stories_, SO THUS, I shall do all. Eg: BV will be my primary focus, yet when I feel like it, I'll do a new chappie of P&D. The DJ stories will be worked on inconsistently, like whenever DJ feels depressed enough that I'll write a story of him to cheer him up.

Despite the fact that he is a figment of my imagination. /=s

**B**: Now that DJ's been brought up, yes, I have found him. All I had to do was stop looking and create another OC to replace him. DJ appeared out of nowhere, subsequently slaughtered the replacement OC, and told me that if I ever tried to replace him again, he will stab me in my sleep. Isn't it awesome when the figments of your imagination are threatening to kill you?

**3**: **FLAKYFAN!**

That is all.

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Len laid back on his deck chair on, where else, but the deck of his temporarily ported ship, and sipped on a bottle of alcohol. Beside him, 'Viva La Vida' by the band Coldplay, softly sounded from the ship's radio. Len hummed the words, and after finishing off the bottle tossed it over his shoulder, where it landed in the ocean.

"That's polluting, you know." A female voice spoke up. Len raise his sunglasses up and glanced at the voice, which was coming from a half-naked Giggles.

"Am I dreaming?" He absent mindedly wondered, letting his eyes travel on Giggle's body.

"My eyes are up here."

"Yeah, but your boobs are down there."

"… Can't argue with that one. Is our luggage still in our rooms?"

"Yeah, unless you've taken them on land. I assume you're going to get another top?"

"Along with some other stuff, yeah." Giggles shrugged as best she could while still trying to conceal herself. Len raised an eyebrow, but before he could ask what else, a certain someone burst up onto deck.

"Len, I need you. NOW!" Flippy yelled, looking like he just ran a marathon. He glanced at Giggles, then did a double-take when he saw Giggle's not-so-concealed breasts. "Uhhh…"

"Oh hi, Flippy." Giggles giggled, as Flippy struggled to remember exactly why he came up here.

"What's the hold up- Oh." Ruffy appeared on deck, took sight of Giggle's nakedness, and quickly became speechless.

"I believe…" Rager joined the two on deck, and subsequently took sight of Giggle's assets. "The correct word I'm supposed to say at this junction… is DAYMN."

"… As much as I'd love to stand here and let you perverts ogle me, I've gotta go grab some stuff." Giggles, now not as comfortable as she was moments ago, backed off and entered the hall of the ship. "Later, masturbators."

Giggle's exit broke the trance on Ruffy, Rager and Flippy, the latter blinking several times before turning his attention back to Len. "Uh, like I was saying, we kinda need you, Len."

Len sat back, and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "What for?" He asked, purposely taking his time in order to aggravate his companions.

"There's a… Situation… In the forest." Ruffy explained. "Flippy informed us that you have some medical training, yeah?"

Len rolled his eyes and glared at Flippy. "What happened to putting the past behind us?"

"Look, Len, since Sniffles… Imploded, you're the only one on the island with any doctoring skills at all." Flippy reasoned, trying to convince his friend to do the right thing.

Of course, Len was making it harder than what it needed to be. "What about DJ? Last I heard, he was quite the surgeon."

"Because at this moment, DJ is on the verge of dying and despite all medical advances, unconscious people can't operate on themselves!"

"Wait, wait… Hold up." Len held up a hand. "Are you telling me, that DJ… As in Desmond fucking Jazed… Is injured?"

"To put it bluntly, yes."

A short pause. Then Len burst out in laughter.

"He always like this?" Rager whispered to Flippy.

"No. Usually he's worse."

"So…" Len wiped some tears of laughter away, and leaned forward. "So seriously? DJ's about to die?" He scoffed, still smirking. "What did he do, finally realize his life is worthless and jump off a cliff?"

"From what Niki told us, he was propelled through the air by a bomb blast, got impaled on a tree branch, and fell 20ft to the ground."

Len raised his eyebrows. "Bomb blast? So that's what the explosion was."

"You didn't know?" Rager asked suspiciously. Len waved the suspicious away and laughed again.

"How could I? I've been here nearly all day."

"But I hit you with my ca-"

"That's not the point." Flippy interrupted. "Look Len, will you help us? Help DJ?"

Len leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. After a tense minute's deliberating, he re-opened them and locked eyes with Flippy.

"No."

"WHAT?"

"As much fun as it sound, I think I'll just stay right here."

"But DJ'll die!"

"… And your point is?"

Flippy halted, surprised that he would flat-out refuse to help a fellow person. Then he sighed. "Alright, I didn't want to resort to this, but you brought it on yourself."

"Brought what on myself?" Len asked, a look of confusion on his face. Flippy leant forwards, and whispered in his ear. "You wouldn't dare!" Len cried out indignity.

"Try me." Flippy said, deep serious.

"… Godamnit." Len submitted after a moments thinking. "Alright, I'll help that bastard. But, you owe me."

"Come on, then. Sikks and CrayZee have gone off to find a first aid kit, if that'll help."

Len sighed, and rectulantly followed the two policemen and Flippy down the boardwalk and to the waiting police car, where Oscar was waiting in the driver's seat. Niki leant on the hood anxiously, and when she saw them walking her way she jumped up.

"Hey, you actually convinced him." Oscar noted. "Looks like I owe ya a beer." He directed to Niki, who ignored him.

"Yeah, wonderful. Now, outta the driver's seat. I'M the driver." Rager opened the driver's door and ushered Oscar out. "C'mon."

"Flippy, you'll have to stay behind." Len said, intercepting Flippy before he could enter the car. "Remember Evil?"

"Oh. Right." How could Flippy forget Evil?

"Oscar, you're staying behind too." Rager said. "There's only room for four in here. I'm driving, Niki's guiding, and Ruffy & Len are coming with us."

"Aw, lame!" Oscar objected, but obeyed the order and joined Flippy on the footpath.

"Hey, Len!" Another voice shouted. As one, everyone turned to the new voice. "Is our stuff still in our rooms?" A very naked Toothy asked, has face a very bright red.

"What happened to your clothes?"

"It's complicated. Our rooms, still got our stuff?"

"Wha- Yeah, but-"

"Okay, see you later, then."And Toothy sped on to the boat in search of some clothes.

"Well… That was… Life scarring." Niki stuttered, her eyes wide. Then as if it had never happened, she suddenly brightened up and pointed ahead. "What are we waiting for, a goodbye kiss? Let's go!"

With a final look at Flippy, Rager sped off, leaving Flippy & Oscar in the dust.

* * *

Sikks burst through the bushes in front of him, gasping as if the devil himself were chasing him. Which, considering the circumstances, probably wouldn't be that far from the truth. Despite all horror movies following this exact same formula in which the sexy star was haplessly slaughtered, Sikks took a risk and disobeyed one of the biggest rules in horror movies.

He looked behind him.

To his immense relief, no-one was following him… anymore… He could've sworn he heard footsteps behind him while he was running, though. Chalk it up to paranoia.

Sikks finally stopped running, and bent over to catch his breath. His chest hurt…

Sikks straightened up, and took a look around himself. He then did a double take when he saw he was standing right in front of the aquarium, where hopefully there was a first aid kit. If not, something to drink. All this running for your life was making Sikks thirsty.

He pushed the door open, which make a loud creaking sound, just like in a horror movie.

"Hello?" Sikks called out, listening for anything. All he got back was a small echo. Not discouraging, but not encouraging either.

Sikks took a step forward-

_**CLANG**_

He paused. Where did that noise come from?

_**THUD**_

Shit, what was that?

"_**efil ruoy rof nur, evila tuo teg ot tnaw uoy fi…"**_

Sikks looked around in fear, now about a 12 on the freaked scale. He slowly backed away, back out the door, his eyes darting around. For a flicker of a second he thought he saw a grayish body floating in the end corridor. The body looked like someone he knew… then he blinked and the apparition was gone. He quickly shut the door to the aquarium, and immediately felt… Safer. He felt safer outside than he did in the aquarium.

"There is no way in hell I'm going back in there." He said aloud. Silence greeted him. He took a step forward in the direction he came from, that being the place where DJ was slowly dying, when a thought struck him.

He can't go back empty handed! They were counting on him. If he came back empty handed, he would therefore be part of the reason DJ died! Also, coming back with nothing would pretty much destroy his chances of getting laid… But he can't go back in the aquarium… Surely something else can help?

It was while he was mentally picturing himself and a certain skunk in a bed of roses that something caught his eye. It was a large building, roughly about 4 or 5 stories high, the paint on the walls peeling off, the building obviously old. But it wasn't the building's appearance that caught his attention. It was the red letters HOSPITAL painted above the entrance.

_

* * *

_

I'm fining it that my new toy, also known as Spades, has more potential than he thinks. He may think that he can't kill someone directly, but he can't deny that he was responsible for the fat bear's demise. Someday, though, he's going to kill someone by his own hand. And he won't have anyone to blame but himself.

"_I am not a bad person." Spades muttered quietly to himself, eyes closed and hands folded in front of him. His fedora was tilted so as to hide his eyes, a move I can't help but think of as spiritual. The eyes are the windows to the soul, and by covering them, you effectively stop all demons affecting you._

_He can hide his eyes all he wants, it won't change the fact that he is like me._

"_Nobody's good or evil." I told him. "What we see as good, someone will invariably see as bad. And vica versa. Perspective, it is. I suppose you think there's a very clear line between what you consider good or evil, correct?"_

_After a short pause, Spades slowly nodded._

"_I've got news for you, Spades. That line? It doesn't exist. There is nothing separating good or evil. Besides, what's evil spelled backwards? Live. You can't spell live without evil."_

"_You can sprout all this backwards mumbo jumbo all you want, but I'm nothing like you."_

"_Sure you are. You did just have a part the fat bear's death, right?"_

"_His name was Disco."_

"_Names don't matter in the end."_

"_Wow, so deep. You think of that all by yourself?" Spades said, his voice positively dripping with sarcasm._

"_Fortune cookie, actually." I placed a hand on Spade's shoulder, causing him to shudder. "Spades, it's time."_

* * *

"DJ, can you hear me?" Sparky whispered in the unconscious feline's ear. Said ear twitched but apart from that, no response. "Naw, I think he's out."

"How can he be out? He was talking to me just a minute ago, telling me not to trust him!"

"Fluffee, we're all under a lot of stress, and some people can imagine things when their under stress…" Pike trailed off, letting Fluffee connect the pieces himself.

"I didn't imagine it! He grabbed me by the collar and warned me!"

"I got another idea…" Sparky spoke up. She leant toward DJ's ear again and shouted, "Hey, DJ! They captured the killer, we're saved, YAY!" She paused for a second. "Yeah, he's out."

"I think that's obvious. The question is, what should we do?"

"Did you check his bag? Surely there's something that can help!" Fluffee hobbled over to DJ's satchel, and eagerly picked it up. "Maybe there's a clue about the killer!" He ranted, unzipping it. "Or a 'Idiot's Guide to Surgery, or…" Fluffee paused, seeing what was in the bag. "… Or a surgical knife." Fluffee said, pulling out a sharp surgical knife, with dried blood on it.

* * *

"Dude, it's getting late." Lifty pointed up at the sky, and true to his word, the sun was starting to set. Nutty looked up from shoving his face full of candy and glanced at the sky. Then he shrugged and resumed his candy-eating.

"Yeah, it's six-thirty." Shifty added pointing to his (stolen) watch. "We should probably find a place to rest for the night." Shifty did not add how hard it would be to rest with a murderer on the loose. Lifty already knew, Nutty… Probably didn't grasp the seriousness of the situation.

"So then where should we go? Back to the boat?"

"Nah, that Rager dude is probably checking it for evidence. Is there a hotel somewhere?"

"Hold up, I'll just check my map." Lifty unfurled a map (also stolen) and after a quick glance nodded his head. "According to this, there should be a bed and breakfast right over… there." Lifty pointed across the road.

"… That's a graveyard." Shifty pointed out. "And that map's from 1937. And it's a map from McDonald's. And-"

"Okay, you're a better thief than me, I get it!" Lifty threw the map to the ground in disgust.

"YES!" Shifty cheered. "HE ADMITS IT! Nutty, you're a witness to the declaration." Shifty turned to the spot where Nutty was, and frowned. "Nutty?"

Nutty was gone. In his place was the mound of candies that the three had brought/stolen, but Nutty had simply vanished.

"Where's he go?" Lifty asked. Shifty shrugged. "It's not like him to simply leave candy lying on the ground like that."

"Freaky… Hey look!" Shifty pointed across the road, where Flippy and Oscar were walking casually by, deep in discussion. "We'll hang with them, not even the craziest killer would dare mess with a police officer and a PTSD killer!"

"Unless Evil is the killer…"

Shifty paused. "Oh, I forgot about Evil. I haven't heard from him in quite a while… Either way, I'm following Flippy. At least with Evil we'll have a warning."

* * *

Drifty downed another bottle of beer and demanded for the bartender to get him a refill. "I am going to name until I can't remember my drink." He declared, the alcohol already clouding his head.

"Right you are, sir." The bartender said. He's seen people like Drifty every day, he's gotten used to this.

"Mind if I join you?" A voice from behind Drifty asked. Drifty said something along the lines of 'It's a free country,' and motioned to the barstool. "Cheers. I'll have what he's having." Spades said to the bartender, and sat on the stool next to Drifty.

Drifty drunkenly glared at Spades, before he realized it was someone he knew. "I didn't know you drank." He slurred. Spades nervously chuckled. "Neither did I." He said, and took a sip of his beer.

"I never pegged you to be a drinker." Drifty continued, disregarding Spade's answer. "I always thought you had it real good. Nice friends, good job, a hot-ass sister-"

"Excuse me?"

"I'm just sayin', you've got it made. Why the hell are you here drinking?"

"It's… complicated."

"Try me."

"… How about you and I take a walk?" Spades countered.

"A walk where?"

"Let's, uh, go hunting. I hear it's a great way to relax." Spades offered a strained smile, and mentally prayed Drifty would refuse.

"Eh. Ain't got anything better to do." Drifty finished off his bottle and stood up. "Lead the way."

Spades, trying to mask his anxiety, nodded and got to his feet. As he walked to the door, he exchanged glances with Handy & Fritz, as if they knew what was going to happen next. But all Handy & Fritz did was wave as they went past, the latter remarking "There's one less dickhead for us to worry about."

* * *

"So this evil side, what's he like?"

"… Evil."

"I see… And what does he usually do?"

"… Kill stuff."

"… Sound pretty one dimensional, if you ask me."

Flippy waited for Evil's voice in his head to remark, possibly something involving Oscar, a lawnmower, and a strawberry smoothie. But that voice didn't come.

Instead, two different voices joined the group.

"Hey guys!" Lifty said.

"What's up?" Shifty added immediately after.

"… That was weird." Oscar remarked, his eyes darting to and from Lifty & Shifty.

"They're twins." Flippy explained, enclicting an 'Ah' from Oscar.

"Technically, I was born first." Shifty chimed in. "And thus why I wear the hat in the family." As if to prove this, he pointed to his fedora.

"You may wear the hat in the family, but I wear the pants in our relationship." Lifty piped, causing Flippy, Oscar and Shifty to stop and stare at Lifty.

"See, comments like that are why people think we're gay." Shifty shook his head, while Lifty realized the extent of his words and turned a bright red.

* * *

"… It just doesn't make any sense." Fluffee spoke up. At his feet was the bloodstained knife, which may have been the one used to kill Mole, Mime, or both. Pike shook his head, while Sparky continued going through DJ's bag.

"Actually, it makes perfect sense." Pike said. "He's secretive, sarcastic, well-read, and English, a trait that all the best villains have. Frankly, I'm surprised it took this long to get some decent evidence."

"I dunno… DJ's far from what you would call a model citizen, but to murder everyone he knows?" Fluffee crossed his arms and shook his head. "I'm not buying it."

"What, you think someone planted the knife in his bag? Then why didn't DJ say something?"

"I don't know! Sparky, what else have you found?"

"About four novels…" Sparky pointed to each item as she pulled them out of the bag. "A compass… A pair of binoculars, a bottle of mineral water, some bolt cutters, a strip of wiring…"

"That's all nice and lovely, but is there anything useful we can use?" Pike interrupted.

"Well, you could make handcuffs out of the wiring, but I don't think we need to resort to that, at least not until we have concrete proof."

"What about his notebook?" Fluffee injected. Sparky had by now turned the bag inside out (literally), but nothing else fell out. Now she glanced up from the pile and looked at Fluffee.

"His what?"

"His notebook, journal, diary, whatever it's called. He carries that thing everywhere. Surely there's a clue or two in there."

"I've searched his bag top to bottom, but I can't find any notebook of any kind."

"Then wher-"

"HEY!"

Pike, Sparky, and Fluffee spun around to the new voice, with Pike quickly throwing a rock in that direction.

Niki swiftly dodged the rock and bounded back to her friends. "You guys! Flippy found someone who can help!"

"Yeah? Who?"

"That Len Spidd guy."

"… What?"

"Yeah, apparently he's got some medical experience! Isn't that awesome?"

"… Brilliant." Sparky locked eyes with Len, who she still didn't trust. "Just brilliant."

Len responded with a mocking wave. "Where's the victim?"

"Over there." Pike pointed to DJ's body. "But be careful, man. Look what we found in his bag." And Pike then showed Len the surgical knife. For his part, Len raised an eyebrow.

"I think he might have something to do with the killings."

"We'll cross that road when we come to it. Where's the medical supplies?"

"We sent CrayZee and Sikks over that way to find one, but I haven't heard from either."

As if on cue, Sikks brush through the bushed, panting heavily, with a red box in hand.

"Found it… Whew. It was… In the… Hospital…" Sikks handed the medical kit to Pike, who then passed it to Len, who then went to DJ's body and started examining it.

"So very tired." Sikks collapsed on his backside and looked up at the sky.

"Sikks, where's CrayZee?" Niki asked.

Sikks shook his head. "I don't know. We heard noises, she…he…it volunteered to investigate it, and I went on to the hospital."

"Hospital?" Ruffy questioned. "That place was abandoned three years ago."

"Yeah, but it still had supplies in it."

"Hey, fucktards! You wanna give me a hand?" Len shouted to the group. "I need a nurse or two."

Pike, Sparky, Niki, Rager, and Ruffy all exchanged glances, then approached Len. Sikks considered following them, but he was just… too… tired. Fluffee just founded it harder to walk.

"What do you need?" Rager asked, glancing to and from DJ.

"I'm going to need two of you to hold his arm, two of you to hold his legs, and one of you to hand me tools when I ask for them."

"Why?"

"Because there's a fairly strong chance he'll wake up during the surgery."

"Wait, you're doing it out here?"

"We risk moving him, we risk killing him. Now stop being a fucking pussy and hold his legs."

Rager scowled, but complied and help on to DJ's left leg. Ruffy took the right one, and Niki & Sparky took care of the arms. This left Pike with 'Nurse duty.'

"Nurse Pike, get the knife, some tissues, tweezers, and a needle & thread ready."

"Ready."

"Okay." Len wiped his brow, and leaned across DJ's body until his hand was resting on the branch lodged in DJ's chest. "This is going to be very messy. None of you faint at the sight of blood, do you?"

A chorus of 'no's responded.

"Alright, at the moment the branch is lodged in his right lung. It's slowly filling up with blood, when I remove the branch most of the blood will spray out in your direction, Ruffy. Immediately after, it'll start filling with blood even faster, so I'll have to be quick in stitching his lung back together. Then I'll have to stitch the outside skin back together. If we're lucky, the branch hasn't scratched his lung that much."

"And if we're not?"

"Then he's fucked, and not in the good way. Nurse Pike, pass me the knife."

Pike muttered something about not to call him that ever again, but complied and passed the bloodied knife to Len. "What about blood infection? The knife already has blood on it, won't that, like, transmit a virus, or something?"

"Probably." Len squinted, and using the knife cut a cross motion around the branch, so it would be easier to reach in and stitch whatever's wrong. "You all ready?"

Silence greeted him.

"Okay, on the count of three." Len gripped the branch, and took a breath. "One-"

Len yanked the branch out before he got to two, and a spray of blood splattered over Ruffy, much to his disgust. DJ's head twitched, but apart from that he remained mostly unconscious.

"Nurse Pike, the tweezers."

Pike wordlessly handed the tweezers to Len, who peered into the gaping wound. "Just as I thought. It just missed his heart by a hair. I'll have to widen the gap between the ribs so I can get access to the lung."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"Now is neither the time nor the place. Needle & thread, please."

Pike gave the needle with thread already attached to Len, and Len promptly tossed the tweezers back. He leant in, prized open the wound even further, and after a moment's deliberation reached in with the needle, and began sewing DJ's lung back together.

"Pike, mop up that blood, I can't see what I'm doing."

Pike did so without any arguing, and Len squinted as he stabbed the needle in and out of DJ's delicate lung tissue, slowly stitching the inside wound away. Until-

"Do you hear something?" Niki asked. "Like, whispers, or something?"

"It's DJ. He was speaking Latin before." Sparky leant down until she was close enough to DJ to hear what he was saying.

"Is it more Latin?" Niki questioned. "Because I don't speak Latin."

"Of course you don't." Len drawled, finishing up the stitches in DJ's lung. "Latin is the language of the dead."

"I thought it was the language of the enlightened."

"Enlightened my ass." Len snapped off the left over thread, having successfully sewn DJ's lung back together, for the time being. "Let's just hope that holds. Now for the outside skin."

"What's he saying?" Ruffy asked, still with specks of blood on his face.

Sparky, now looking decidedly pale, turned to the young officer and swallowed nervously. "He said he's sorry he killed us."

* * *

"Hai, Flippy!" Flaky waved to her boyfriend, while beside her Petunia slept in the sun. Cuddles, Giggles, and Toothy were nowhere to be seen. Flippy presumed them to be on the ship, and promptly forgot about them.

"Hey, Flakes." Flippy embraced her in a romantic hug, and Shifty & Lifty sat down on either side of Petunia.

"Geez, wouldn't mind a rest." Lifty stated.

"Yeah, that sounds pretty good." Shifty added, and they both laid down on deck chairs.

A crackle from Oscar's police radio caught the attention of everyone. Oscar fumbled with it for several moments, before successfully answering it.

"Rager? That you? How'd the surgery go?"

"_As far as I can tell, it's a success. He hasn't woken up yet, but he is talking in his sleep. Oh, and Mr. Spidd seems convinced he saved him."_

"Hear that, Flippy? Len saved him."

"_Oscar, get Flippy and as many of the other suspects as you can. Meet us at the Broadshore Hospital."_

"Why? What for?"

_Because it's getting late, and these guys need a place to rest. Also, it'll be easier keeping all our suspects in one place. Do you copy?"_

"Ten-Four, over and out." Oscar clicked the radio off, and turned to Flippy. "Do you know where all your friends are?"

"Not all of them, no. What was that about us being suspects?"

"Just a precaution. Could you call them, tell them to meet you here?"

"I suppose, yes, but-"

"Cool, I'm going to go grab a bus from the depot. It'll be easier to transport you all together." Oscar turned around and started jogging back to the police station. "I'll be back in half an hour, probably." He shouted over his shoulder as he disappeared over a hill.

"So do you know where our friends are?" Flaky asked. Flippy shrugged.

"Sparky, Niki, Pike, Spades, DJ, Fluffee, Sikks, Rager, Ruffy & Len are already on their way… Petunia, Giggles, Toothy, Lifty & Shifty are just here… But as for everyone else, I got no idea where they are."

"Where who are?" Flaky jumped at the sound of this voice, but quickly calmed down when she saw it was Pop, carrying his sleeping son on his shoulder.

"Oh, hey Pop. How's Cub?"

"Sound asleep, the little rascal. What were you talking about?"

"We're getting as much of us as we can, and headed for the hospital. It'll make a decent rest point, and we can figure out what to do next."

"Well, in case you needed to know, Handy and Fritz-" Pop spat at the mention of Fritz's name. "- went to a bar to, presumably, get drunk."

"Thanks for the info, go have a rest. You look like you need it."

* * *

"So what are we hunting?" Drifty asked, still drunk. He carried a single-shot Markov sniper rifle, given to him by Spades, slung over his shoulder, and was carrying another can of beer in his right hand.

"Uh, birds, I guess." Spades answered. He himself was carrying a custom made AK-47, though the safety was on. The guns had been left in a trash can just south of the bar, put there by probably the killer. Spades dreaded what he was about to do, but wanted to be as far away from civilization as possible for when he did the deed.

"Birds, eh?"

"Yeah. Birds."

"Awesome." Drifty took another swig of his beer, and tossed the now empty can over his shoulder. "So… How's Laces? She single?"

"What?" Spades halted, and turned around to face Drifty. By now they were deep in the forest, where any gunshots hopefully wouldn't be heard by anyone.

"I'm just asking, chill."

Spades nodded, then glanced behind Drifty and his eyes widened. He aimed his rifle over Drifty's shoulder, and motioned for Drifty to do the same. Drifty swung his rifle around, now with his back exposed to Spades.

"What? What am I aiming at?" He whispered, and behind him Spades closed his eyes and aimed his rifle at Drifty's back. His fingers shook on the trigger, and Spades's aim trembled.

"Spades?" Drifty turned around, and froze at the sight of Spades pointing his gun at him. "Spades, what are you doing?"

"I'm sorry… I don't have a choice." A tear leaked from Spade's eye, and he willed himself to pull the trigger. The rifle shook as Spade's aim trembled. _Don't do it, you'll end up just like him! But I have to do it, to protect Laces! There's gotta be another way! There isn't…_

Spades lowered the rifle. "I can't do it." He muttered. "Drifty, you have to run. Get out of here as fast as you can."

"What?" Drifty asked, not fully understanding what Spades was talking about.

"You have to go! NOW!"

_

* * *

_

Spade's shout finally unglued Drifty's feet from the ground, and he turned and started running. Straight into a trap.

_I swung down from a tree, landing feet first on Drifty's back. He went sprawling, the sniper rifle flying into the bushes. I unsheathed one of my many hunting knives, and promptly tore Drifty's cheek open, from the corner of his mouth to the base of his ear, making it look like a demented smile. Drifty screamed, and clutched at the side of his face where the loose skin and muscles flopped downward and blood pumped out like a faucet. Another flick of my wrist, and the knife did the same thing to his other cheek._

_He screamed something unintelligible, and with another slash cut him horizontally across the face, effectively severing both eyes in two. Before he could scream again, I slashed his throat, and after a few more seconds of struggling, he succumbed to his wounds and died._

_I turned to Spades, who had been standing there for the entire slaughter horrified. I put my bloodied hand on his shoulder, and gazed deep into his eyes, full of fear and awe._

"_I'm very disappointed in you." I said._

* * *

I'd just like to say that I, personally, am glad DJ's not on death's door anymore. Not because he's my OC, but because I love writing for DJ. His smart-assness just flows naturally. And now, the wheels are literally set in motion for some epic events/deaths. Yes, it's the beginning of the end. Alternatively, it's the end of the beginning. It's like the glass half full or half empty thing.

Review if you want to, and I'll be seeing you sooner than you think.


	13. The Beginning of the End

100 reviews! *Fanfare* Awesome!

Oh, Schadinn. You want a peak into the life of me & DJ? You'll have to wait, I've got a DJ centric fic coming along. Oh yes. There will be blood.

DJ: Well, that's cheerful.

Now, here's the latest chapter of Bloody Vengence, _The Beginning of the End_. Enjoy.

* * *

DJ's eyes slowly flickered open, blinking in and out of focus. His head was hurting, his chest felt like someone tried to ram a stop sign though him, and he was fairly sure he tasted blood. Not exactly what he'd call a good feeling.

"DJ? You're awake!" A figure to his left said, and after a few seconds of letting his eyes adjust, DJ saw it was Fluffee, a bandage tired around his leg and a concerned expression on his face.

"Fluffee? ... Are we dead?"

"If we are, then... Heaven sucks." Fluffee responded after a short pause. "Want some water?" Fluffee offered a water bottle to DJ. DJ looked from the bottle, to Fluffee and back to the bottle. Then he slowly grabbed the bottle and put it to his lips.

One swallow and two seconds later, he passed the bottle back, leaned over his side, and coughed violently, heaving up several grams of blood.

Fluffee made a move to help him, but Len held him back. "He's just clearing out his airways. It'll stop in a moment."

DJ dry heaved a few more times, and finally spat out what was hopefully the last of the blood in his airways. He shifted his vision back to Fluffee, his eyes brimming with pain. "What happened?" He managed to ask.

"Uh... Lumpy exploded. Pike got a damaged eardrum, I got half my leg burnt," at this point Fluffee motioned to his bandaged leg. "And you were found unconscious, stuck in a 20ft tall tree with a branch lodged in your chest. Luckily, Len here had some medical experience, and, well... He saved you."

"... Len?" DJ turned his head slightly, catching sight of Len for the first time. "You?"

"Me." Len answered. "Hey, it wasn't my choice to save you. Flippy pretty much blackmailed me. If it was up to me, you'd be burning in hell right now."

"Sorry to disappoint." DJ sarcastically said. Len now walked away from the two, and Fluffee watched him go before leaning in closer to DJ.

"DJ, while you were 'out of it' and I was supervising you, you suddenly came to life, grabbed me by the collar and warned me not to trust him. Do you remember that?" Fluffee whispered hurriedly.

"'Him?' I didn't elaborate?"

"No, you didn't. But please, DJ. Do you remember this happening?"

DJ hesitated, as if searching through his memory banks to see if he remembered this. "No." He said after a lengthy silence. "I don't recall reviving and throttling you while shouting obscure warnings."

"Are you sure? I distinctly heard you scream not to trust him."

"Well, I certainly wouldn't want to contradict myself, but honestly Fluffee, I don't rem…" DJ trailed off, his eyes suddenly going in and out of focus. Fluffee was about to wave a hand in front of his face, when DJ whispered.

"I knew."

"Er… What?"

"I knew who it was!"

"What, the killer?"

"No, who stole the cookie from the cookie jar. OF COURSE the killer!" DJ said, trying to keep his voice at whisper level.

"Well, who was it, then?"

The small sense of triumph faded from DJ's face, and was replaced by a look of hopelessness. "I… Don't know."

"But you said-"

"I said I knew, not I know. Past tense."

"So, what, you just forgot?" Fluffee had to admit, even he found this hard to believe.

"I don't know…"

"Then how did you figure it out?"

"With my notebook. It had all my observations and notes in it. I think I was close to figuring out who it was, before Lumpy decided to explode."

"Your… notebook?"

"Yeah. It should still be in my bag."

"… Shit."

"Sorry?"

"Man, while you were out we went through your bag, to see if there was some way to help. There was no notebook there."

DJ leaned back and closed his eyes. "Did you find any scrap of it? Loose pages? Photographs?"

Fluffee slowly shook his head. "No, nothing." He put a hand on DJ's shoulder. "Hey, don't worry, man. If you found out who it was before, then you can do it again."

DJ remained silent.

* * *

"So that's what's happening. Oscar'll get a bus, and he'll take us to the general hospital. It'll make a nice rest point. Any questions?" Flippy asked the assembled crowd, consisting of himself, Flaky, Cuddles, Giggles, Petunia, Lifty, Shifty, Pop and Cub. After a short pause, Giggles raised her hand.

"What about the boat? Why can't we sleep in there?" She asked.

"I suspect Rager wants to comb it for clues." Flippy shrugged. "You can probably run in there and grab your bags, if you want to."

Giggles paused, considering. Then she nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna go grab my bags and whatnot. You wanna come with, Cuddles?"

"Baby, I'd love to… We may be a while, Flippy." Cuddles winked at Flippy, who gave him a discreet thumbs up.

"Any other questions?" Flippy asked again, as Cuddles gleefully followed Giggles onto the ship, disappearing into the main hall. There was none. "Alright, then go get ready, or relax, or whatnot."

"How can we relax when there's a killer hanging around?" Petunia spoke up, and a murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd.

"Well… Just do what I do." Flippy said. "Relax, close your eyes & empty your mind. Perhaps some yoga."

There was a split second of silence, before Lifty couldn't control himself and burst out laughing. When his finally caught his breath (about half a minute later) he looked all around at the others.

"I'm sorry…" He explained, wiping tears from his eyes. "But the image of YOU, Flippy, doing yoga, with your head behind your ass… It's just too much!" Lifty exploded into laughter again. One by one, the others all pictured Flippy doing yoga (whether they pictured him with his head behind his ass is debatable) and before long, everyone was rolling with laughter. Even Flippy had to admit, the image of himself nearly kissing his own ass was quite funny. And if it helped cheer everyone up, then he was all for it.

* * *

"_I think I know why you didn't kill Drifty." I said as I marched Spades through the forest. "I think you didn't kill him because you though I wasn't there, and that he could escape with his life."_

_Spades made no response. He'd been like that since I slaughtered Drifty in front of him. But I could see it in his eyes that that was precisely the reason he didn't pull the trigger on Drifty._

"_You won't have to worry about letting them go this time, Spades." I continued as we exited out of the forest and onto the beach just a few meters down from the freighter. "This time, I'll be right here with you. And if you don't kill them, I will. And I'll make it slow."_

* * *

"Look, call me misguided if you must, but anyone who carries a knife around, with blood on it, is up to no good."

"Pike, I understand where you're coming from, but do you really believe that DJ is the one who murdered your friends?"

"Honestly? Yes, Ruffy. I do."

"Len?" Ruffy cast his attention to Len Spidd, who had been standing idly by. "What do you think?"

"I think we just saved the life of a murderer."

"Sparky?" Now on to Sparky, who was sitting in a daze. Ruffy waved his hand in front of her face, effectively snapping out of her trance. "Sparky, I need your opinion on this. Do you think DJ is the one who killed your friends?"

"… I'm not sure." Sparky replied after a long pause. "He purposely isolates himself, he's secretive… But I don't think he's a bad person… Although…" Sparky hesitated, but continued. "If I do find out that he killed Sniffles… I will fucking murder him."

"Not sure if that's a good thing to say in front of a police officer, but, aw well. What say you, Sikks?"

Sikks shrugged. "Dunno, man. I'm still undecided."

"Niki?"

"He's certainly a possibility… But at the same time something doesn't feel right."

"Okay, so including myself and Rager, that's four for yes, three for undecided, and one for no."

"Fluffee said no?"

"Yeah. Can't imagine why, though."

Meanwhile, DJ was watching the group with mild interest. Though he couldn't hear what they were on about, a niggling feeling in the back of his mind told him it was something important.

"What's the brain trust discussing?" He asked Fluffee, surprising the Siberian husky. "What we're having for lunch?"

"Uh… Not exactly." Fluffee deliberately avoided the question, opting to remain silent. Unfortunately, his facial expression and his avoidance of the question told DJ much more.

"I think I can hazard a guess." DJ remarked, his eyes glossing from each person to the next.

"Yeah?"

"If you couldn't find my notebook, then that means you went through my bag. And if you went through my bag, that meant you found the knife." DJ averted his gaze to Fluffee. "And since you found the knife, that means you think I'm the killer. And following that line of logic, I bet they're trying to decide what to do with me."

"… Yeah." Fluffee admitted, and DJ looked down at the ground. "I'll be honest, the evidence is pretty strong against you." Seeing Rager beckoning him over, he hastily got to his feet. "Be right back."

"Fluffee, need your opinion on something." Rager stated, having no regard for Fluffee's cheerful greeting in the form of a hi-5. "So we've all… That is to say, a large amount of us, have agreed that your friend DJ might be, how to I put this gently…" Rager looked thoughtful as Fluffee slowly lowered his hand, still waiting for that hi-5. Rager suddenly snapped his fingers. "Oh yeah. He's an insane smart-alec psychopath who probably killed before."

"… Oh." Was all Fluffee could say.

"Yeah. 'Oh.' So me and the rest have been discussing. See these here?" Rager pointed at Ruffy, who waved good-naturedly and held up a pair of handcuffs. "We're thinking of using 'em on DJ. For everyone's safety, of course."

"Then why do you need me here?" Fluffee asked, still (somewhat) stunned at what was going on.

"We're taking a vote." Rager explained. "On whether or not to put the handcuffs on DJ. All in favour?"

Rager, Len, Ruffy and Pike's arms all shot up into the air. After a moment's hesitation, Sikks raised his hand too. "That's 5-3. Alright, let's get these handcuffs onto him."

* * *

"Ah dunt fill like dancin' wen ma mojo's rund away!" Clap clap. "Camon, ya take a chanse, something something something!"

Handy and Fritz, having been drunkenly tossed out of the bar several minutes ago, were to put to bluntly, absolutely fucking shit-faced. Leaning on one another for support, they had literally forgotten all their troubles in the world, along with their morals and good conscience.

"Dude!" Handy interrupted Fritz's singing, which could be described as slightly better than nails on a chalkboard, and waved his hands… Waved his arms in front of his face. "Fratz, my hands are, *hic* , gone!"

Fritz stopped his ear-splitting version of Scissor Sister's _Don't Feel Like Dancing_ (At least, that's what I think he was trying to sing.) and looked at the space where Handy's hand would've been. "Woooah." He slurred, swaying from side to side. "Dey musta ben stolen! Damn you, Litty & Shitty!" Fritz dramatically waved his fist in the air as Handy contemplated the matter further.

"Don't be silly, they're obviously *hic* invisible." Handy retorted, before he swore, vomited, and passed out simultaneously.

Upon seeing Handy pass out in a pool of his own vomit, Fritz felt a sick feeling in the back of his throat. "I don't like this game anymore!" He stated, before bending over and heaving his guts out. Fritz lost consciousness just as a shadow stepped over him.

**

* * *

**

Bang.

"What was that?" Giggles looked up from pleasuring her lover at the far-off noises.

"What was what?" Cuddles asked, momentarily confused by the fact that the sex waz halted.

"Didn't you hear that?"

**Clang.**

"I heard it now."

"What is it?"

"Probably a misaligned value." Cuddles reasoned. "Don't worry about it." And he leant closer for a kiss.

**Bang.**

"I don't know." Giggles said, completely ignoring Cuddle's sex drive.

"Godamnit." Cuddles sighed. Worst cock-block in history. "Alright, I'm gonna go check it out." He got up, and slipped on a pair of jeans as Giggle's watched.

"Wait. Flippy said the bus'll be here in about five minutes. What should I tell them?" she said, and Cuddles shrugged.

"Tell them to leave without me, I'll catch up."

"You sure?"

**Bang.**

"I'm sure, honey. We'll finish off what we started here later." Cuddles kissed Giggles on the cheek. "I'll see you later."

"See ya." Giggles murmured as she watched him go. She then sighed, and started putting her clothes back on.

* * *

"Dude, you okay?" Fluffee asked DJ as he sat down next to him.

"I was enjoying some alone time." DJ answered, sitting up despite the agonizing pain in his chest. Fluffee either didn't hear him or ignored him.

"Right, well… How do you feel about handcuffs?" He instead asked.

"Is that supposed to be some kind of question about sexual fetishes?"

"… It's not meant to be. All of us – except you, of course – took a vote on what to do with you. The majority of us decided to put handcuffs on you, just in case."

DJ bowed his head. "Figures."

Fluffee nodded. "Just giving you the heads up, mate." Fluffee got to his feet, wiping the dirt off his trousers.

"Why did you save me?"DJ suddenly and unexpectedly blurted out.

"Sorry?" Fluffee halted, wondering if he heard that right.

DJ kept his head down as he explained. "I've been thinking. I'm far from what you'd call a good person, I've been a jerk most of the trip, and since you all think I'm this sadistic killer, you could've saved some lives by letting me slowly drown in my own blood. I've done many bad things in my life. Things I wish I didn't do. Please, Fluffee…" DJ looked up at the Siberian Husky, an ashamed look on his face. "Why did you save me?"

Fluffee took a moment to think. "Because," he slowly started. "No matter what kinda person they are, it's wrong just to let someone die. Besides, I didn't say I thought you were the killer." Fluffee gave DJ a somewhat encouraging smile, as Rager approached the two.

"Not interrupting anything, am I?" He asked, twirling the handcuffs on his finger. Before anyone could reply, he nodded at DJ. "You. Get up."

"Say please."

"Get the fuck up. NOW."

"Alright, take a fucking chill pill." DJ dragged himself up, and the pain in his chest flared. DJ bit his tongue to keep from yelling, and as the pain slowly subsided he managed to stand up straight and look Rager in the eye. "Any other requests, oh mighty cop?

"Hold out your hands."

"You didn't say Simon Says."

Rager snarled, and grabbed the left wrist of DJ. He attached one cuff to it, as DJ made no effort to resist. Rager did the same to the right wrist, resulting in DJ's hands handcuffed together in front of him.

"You are under arrest on suspicion of murder. You have the right to remain silen-"

DJ interrupted Rager's official arresting speech with an exaggerated yawn. Rager's eyes narrowed, and in one swift movement he had unsheathed his baton and held it dangerously close to the side of DJ's face, to no effect. "You're on thin ice, man. You make one more wrong move, and I'll fucking kill you."

"You do that and you'll be no better than me." DJ replied unflinchingly. Rager looked like he was about to rip him to shreds, before placing his baton back in its holster and marching away.

* * *

"Here's the bus!" Petunia shouted, as the dark blue bus, being driven by Oscar, parked on (yes, on) the sidewalk and the doors opened.

"Look who I found!" Oscar shouted, and indicated to the back seats where Handy and Fritz were dozing in an alcohol-driven slumber. "Found 'em outside one of the bars. Puked their guts out, they did."

"Delightful." Flippy said as he mounted the steps and walked down the bus aisle, Flaky following him. As they sat in the middle row, Flaky leant over. "What's going to happen?" she whispered.

"Honestly? I don't know." Flippy answered as Lifty & Shifty pushed past each other in an effort to get to the very back seats first. "But I'm sure we'll be safe. Rager, Ruffy, and even Oscar are police officers."

"Crack was a police officer, too."

"… Good point." Flippy admitted. "But don't worry. Even if this killer person manages to get past all these officers, he'll have to get through me next. And remember, I've got Evil up my sleeve."

"How is Evil, by the way?" Flaky asked. Usually she would never speak to or about Evil, but if there was a killer running about she wanted to be sure he was on her side.

"He's very quiet. I'm not sure if he's lost his voice, or if all these killings have shocked him, but I haven't heard from him in a few hours."

"Is that all?" Oscar shouted.

"Dunno. Here comes Giggles." Flippy said, as Giggles rushed out of the boat, dragging her bag behind her and struggling to hold her pants up.

"Where's your belt?" Petunia asked as Giggles slumped down beside her. Giggles shrugged.

"Lost it."

"How did you… Oh. Well, where's Cuddles?"

"He, ah, wanted to check something out. He said to go on without him." Giggles paused, sniffing the air. "What is that?" She looked at Fritz. "You smell like booze."

"You smell like sex." Fritz answered.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your driver speaking." Oscar's voice flowed from the speakers as the doors closed. "We'll arrive at our destination in about fifteen minutes. Thank you for using _Oscar's Awesome Taxiing Service_."

And with that note, Oscar put the pedal to the metal and sped away.

* * *

"Stupid noises… Denying me my right to get laid…" Cuddles muttered to himself as he followed the noises down the hall. The banging and clanging was slowly growing louder, and Cuddles paused. The banging sounded like it was coming from the boiler room, where the bodies of the… Deceased, were located.

Very creepy.

His sense of adventure got the better of him, and Cuddles pushed open the boiler room door and descended down the steps. "Hello?" He called out, and was relieved when no-one answered him. He reached the bottom of the stairs, and looked around. The banging seemed to come from one of the pipes.

Cuddles approached said pipe, and inspected it. The gauge reading was in the red zone. That was bad. Cuddles twisted the handle on the pipe, and the banging slowly ceased as the reading slid to the safe yellow zone.

"There we go. That wasn't as hard as-" Something hard hit the back of Cuddle's head, and he blacked out before he could finish his sentence.

* * *

"_You expect me to kill him?" Spades asked, pointing to Cuddle's body._

"_I thought I already made it clear. You mercy kill him, or I slowly kill him." I said, as I tired Cuddle's body to a large pipe, wrapping the rope around it so he couldn't move._

"_Here." I held out a knife in Spade's direction. "I suggest you do it before he wakes up."_

_Spades looked from me, to the knife, then back at me again. With a rejected sigh, and grabbed the handle of the knife just as Cuddles woke up._

"_Where am I?" He asked. I could tell he had a concussion. I didn't mean to hit him that hard, but oh well. "What's going on?" He caught sight of Spades, his eyes drifting in and out of focus. "Spades? What's going on?"_

"_Do as I asked you to, Spades." I pushed on, and Spades slowly approached Cuddles._

"_Cuddles, I'm sorry." Spades muttered, avoiding Cuddle's gaze. "I don't have a choice."_

"_Wha…" Then Cuddles saw the glint of steel in Spade's hand, and his eyes went wide. He struggled against the ropes holding him as Spades raised the knife to his chest, just above the heart._

"_Spades, don't do this!" Cuddles panicked and the knife scratched the tip of his skin. "You don't have to do this! Spades, Spades… I'm your friend, remember? I'm your friend!"_

"_Enough chit-chat." I spoke. "Do it, Spades."_

_I could see Spades struggling with this decision. The knife trembled in his hand as he debated on what to do. The first kill is always the hardest. So I took it upon myself for a little added support._

"_Spades. If you don't kill him, then I'll have to. And I'll make it slow and painful."_

"_WHAT?" Cuddles shouted. "Nono, it doesn't have to be like this!"_

"_And," I added, seeing even more hesitation in Spade's eyes. "I'll kill Laces. SLOWLY."_

"_Laces? What's she got to do with this?" Cuddles yelled. He could yell as loud as he wanted, the only ones nearby were me, Spades, and of course the bodies of Scott, Mole, Mime and Sniffles._

_Spades closed his eyes, thinking it through. After a lengthy silence, he re-opened them. "Sorry, Cuddles. I truly am." And he raised the knife at his chest._

"_YOU MOTHERFUCKER!" Cuddles shouted, anger positively brimming. "YOU FUCKING PUSSY-WHIPPED MOTHERFUCKER!" Cuddles struggled against the ropes again, to no avail. Spades averted his gaze to the ground, and Cuddle's anger grew. "Hey, HEY! YOU LOOK AT ME! YOU FUCKING LOOK AT ME WHEN YOU'RE KILLING ME!"_

_Spades thrust the knife through Cuddle's chest, and as blood leaked from the knife wound Cuddles fell silent, fixing Spades with a death stare as his life faded from him. "You fucking pussy…" He muttered, before his head dropped and silence ruled._

_Spades continued looking at the ground as he let go of the knife, stuck in Cuddle's chest captivity. He collapsed against the wall, and put his face in his hands as the actions of what he had done set in._

_I clapped slowly. "Nice work, Spades. Nice work."_

* * *

SPADES WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?

DJ: I would think that's obvious.

... Right. So review if you want to, I mean, I won't stick my face in a blender if you don't. But, you know, you have a choice in the matter, unlike Spades, who didn't really have any choices.

DJ: You're rambling again.

Right, right, sorry. Til next time, I'm DJ Shifty, that's DJ, this is Bloody Vengence, and I'll see you later.

~ DJ


	14. Bad Fortune

Well hey there. *roughish wink*

Since we're nearing the halfway mark of the story (probably) I should warn you that there may be less humor in the future chapters and more fear, to put it simply. So without further ado, here's chapter 14 of Bloody Vengence: Bad Fortune.

_

* * *

_

I clapped my hands slowly. "Nice work, Spades. Nice work."

_Spades made no move to reply, and continued sitting there with his head in his hands. The first kill was always the hardest, but it'll get easier as you go on. I started undoing the ropes that held Cuddle's body to the pipe, and with a heavy plop Cuddle's body fell forward onto the ground._

"_N… Now what?" Spades nervously spoke up. I slung Cuddle's body over my shoulder, and glanced at my apprentice._

"_Now you have the rest of the day off." I said, and started walking away, lugging the dead weight that is Cuddle's body with me._

"_Day off?" Spades said incredulously. "The rest of the day off?"_

"_Yeah. I think you've done enough work. For now." I added. "You just go relax."_

"_Relax?" Spade's head shot up, glaring daggers at me. "RELAX? HOW THE FUCKING HELL AM I MEANT TO RELAX AFTER… AFTER THIS?"_

"_Frankly, that's not my problem." I curtly replied, and without another word I set off, carrying Cuddle's body on my shoulder._

* * *

The group in the forest made their way through the dense bushes, Ruffy & Sikks leading the pack. Len, Pike, Niki, and Sparky were grouped together in the middle, carefully avoiding DJ, who was at the back along with Rager and Fluffee. Rager was keeping a close eye on their number one suspect, and Fluffee was just keeping him company.

"So… Why'd you do it?" Rager questioned. The question had been burning in his brain for quite a while, but it wasn't until now that he had had a chance to ask.

"I've done a lot of things in my life, Rager." DJ replied, staring straight ahead. "You're going to have to be a bit more specific than that."

"Why did you kill them?"

"I didn't kill them."

"Oh, and I suppose someone just planted the knife in your bag?" Rager said, his voice laden with sarcasm.

"I suppose it doesn't matter what I say, it's obvious you've already made up your mind." DJ remarked.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think it means? You've been looking for someone to blame all these killing on for… What, thirty years, more or less? You're desperate to solve this case, aren't you? So when Fate decided to throw you a bone, in the form of a knife in my bag, you were finally relieved. Could this be the big breakthrough you've been waiting for? It doesn't matter what I say, Rager, because as for as you're concerned, I'm guilty until proven innocent."

Rager narrowed his eyes, and opened his mouth to argue, though exactly why he wanted to argue was beyond him, but before he could get the first syllable out a shout from the front of the group rang out.

"HOLY FUCK! Everyone, just… Just stand back!" That was Ruffy's voice. What's he done now?

Since Ruffy told everyone to stand back, everyone instead surged forward, to see what Ruffy had found. Several immediately regretting it, with cries of disgust, horror, and the occasional sound of someone vomiting.

"Godamnit." Rager snarled, and pushed his way through the crowd, pushing aside Sikks and Sparky, who both looked equally sick. "What is it-" He started, but Ruffy simply pointed into the clearing, where what was left of CrayZee's body was located.

"Oh… Ew." Rager said in disgust, noticing the shredded remains of the head.

"Well, that's pleasant." DJ spoke up, having followed Rager through the crowd. He surveyed the murder scene with the manner that you would with a bouncing basketball, carelessly thrown into your yard by the neighbor's next door, resulting in a mixture of curiosity and carelessness. Where did that come from, and Why should I care?, he might've well said.

Rager had a sudden urge to beat DJ into next Tuesday.

"What should we do?" Niki nervously asked. "About CrayZee?"

Naturally, everyone looked to the police for guidance.

"We keep going as planned." Rager decided. Niki started to object, so he held up a hand to silence her. "I promise you, we'll come back later on and take the body away. But not now. It'll be dark soon. We'll get her in the morning."

Though some didn't feel right leaving CrayZee's body here, they had to agree. Ruffy and Len guided the rest around the body, and though no-one particularly wanted to, they all found their eyes drawn to the body. They were all thinking the same thing.

_Was I going to be next?_

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your driver speaking. We'll arrive at our destination in five or so minutes, so I advise you to, you know, get your stuff together and whatnot."

Of course no-one was listening to Oscar. They were all lost in their little worlds. Handy, of course, passed out due to the alcohol. Fritz wasn't as sleepy, as he was glaring at Pop & Cub from behind them. For his part, Pop didn't even notice the German's glare as he cradled Cub on his shoulder. Right down the back of the bus, Shifty and Lifty were playing the classic game of corners, oblivious to anything wrong in the world. Flippy and Flaky, neither in the mood for talk, sat silently together. Occasionally one of them would look at the other, and open their mouth to say something, but would give up before they even started. Petunia had actually drifted off to sleep, and beside her Giggles tried in vain to call Cuddles on his mobile.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. Brrring. "You've reached Cuddle's voicemail. Leave a message, and I'll probably call back. Leave a sexy message and I'll definitely call back." Beep.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. Brrring. "You've reached Cuddle's voicemail. Leave a message, and I'll probably call bac-" Beep.

Tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap-tap. Brrring. "You've reached Cuddle's voi-"

"GODAMNIT!" Giggles shouted, and tossed her phone at Handy's head, where it clanged against his workman's helmet and landed in his lap. Handy muttered something like 'I don't need hands to pleasure myself' and continued sleeping.

"What's the matter?" Flaky spoke timidly, surprised by her friend's outburst.

"I can't get through to Cuddles!" Giggle's panic was starting to set in. Cuddles was always at his phone, whether it was texting his friends, calling his friends, sending pictures of himself to his friends, etc, so for him not to be answering after a third ring was causing Giggles some concern.

"I'm sure he's fine." Flippy said offhandedly. Truth be told, Flippy was feeling tired and was looking forward to resting his head in a bed.

"But he always answers his phone!"

"Always?" Flippy raised an eyebrow.

"Always!"

"Even when you two are… You know." He made an 'O' figure with one hand and put a finger through it, the universal sign of gettin' it on. To put it bluntly.

Giggles silently stared, her mouth a 'O' of itself, shocked that Flippy would dare insinuate that. Before she could stutter a reply, the sound of Adam Lambert's _If I Had You_ filled the bus.

"Do you hear what I hear?" Flaky said, as the music softly flowed through the bus.

"Yeah, that's my ringtone." Giggles looked around, for her phone. "Where did I throw my phone?" Flippy simply pointed at Handy, or more accurately at Handy's lap, where the phone was belting out the music and vibrating simultaneously, much to the sleeping Handy's delight. At each vibration he actually giggled in his sleep, much to the shock of everyone.

Without even thinking, Giggles swiped the phone from Handy's crotch, enclicting another giggle by the sleeping beaver, and glanced at the screen. "It's a text message… From Cuddles!" She squealed with joy, and promptly read the message out loud for everyone to hear. "'dont worry im ok Ill meat u the hospital ok?'" Giggles sighed and sat down, relieved. "Thank goodness he's okay. I don't know what I'd do if he wasn't."

* * *

Before long, both parties arrived at the hospital, more or less at the same time. Flippy was leading the way off the bus when he was suddenly assaulted with a relieved hug by Niki.

"You're okay!" She exclaimed, and before Flippy could reply Niki had moved on to Flaky, hugging her and being thankful that she was okay, and so on and so forth. After recovering from the hug, he scanned the area, counting heads. Only twenty. Before Flippy could even begin to worry about those whose fate he wasn't sure of, Rager approached him.

"Flippy, we need to talk." He said.

"What abou…" Flippy trailed off as he noticed DJ, standing off by himself, in handcuffs. No-one made any real effort to talk to him, though Giggles did have a look of superiority on her face when she saw him. Indeed, the only person even near DJ at this point was Fluffee.

"Why don't we take the group inside, then we'll talk about it." Flippy said, and Rager nodded before walking away to talk to Oscar.

"Oscar, fire up the engine. You and I are going to check back at the station."

"Uh… Why?"

"Just do it."

Oscar shrugged. "Fine. Hop in." And when Rager had jumped in the front passenger seat, Oscar sped away.

* * *

"Can I have your attention?" Flippy asked, as all the remaining HTFs stood before him, discussing amongst themselves with no real care for Flippy's question. Flippy repeated it, twice, and sighed.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Len shouted, instantly silencing everyone. He then nodded to Flippy to continue.

"Uh… thanks. Right, so this is the hospital, where you'll be sleeping for the night. It's got good beds, so it's a good place to rest and whatnot."

"Is there any particular reason as to why the paint is peeling off the walls?" Sikks asked, pointing to the walls, a dusty creamy-whiteness that was, indeed, peeling off.

"I'll field that one." Ruffy stepped up next to Flippy. "This hospital hasn't actually been used in three years. It was abandoned because… Actually, I'm not sure why, I just arrived here last year. Anyway, Rager assures me that the rooms from floors three and upwards are still usable. So in a few moments, I'll take you to your rooms, 2 per room. If you want, find a roomie now."

"Thanks, Ruffy. Any questions?"

"What about the medical equipment left? Is that still useable?" Pike asked, and Flippy looked to Ruffy for guidance.

"Dude, I don't know." Ruffy said, shaking his head. "This is more or less the first time I've stepped foot in this place."

"Guys, Petunia's OCD is acting up." Sparky said, and true to her word Petunia was indeed hyperventilating at the thought of all this dust and dirt, not to mention the cobwebs and the numerous spiders living in said cobwebs. That final image of a huge spider crawling stealthily across the floor finally did it, and Petunia promptly fainted. Luckily, Sikks was standing right behind her and managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

"I think I better take her to her room." Sikks announced, to no-one in particular.

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Flippy nodded, agreeing. "Ruffy, you escort them to their rooms. Then come back. I need to talk to you." Flippy's eyes flickered over to DJ, who until this moment had been looked, almost bored, out the window. Almost as if feeling Flippy's view on him, DJ looked over, locked eyes with him, and after a few tense second he actually grinned.

* * *

Through some hastily arranged agreements, everyone had sorted who they were rooming with by the time Ruffy had led the group up the stairs ("I don't think the elevator's working") and arrived on floor three. After some tense discussions and coin-flipping, the final room arrangements looked a bit like this:

**F3R1**  
Flippy & Flaky  
**F3R2**  
Shifty & Lifty  
**F3R3**  
Giggles & Cuddles (reserved for when he got back)  
**F3R4**  
Pop & Cub  
**F3R5**  
Sikks & Petunia  
**F3R6**  
Sparky & Niki  
**F3R7**  
Pike & Fritz  
**F3R8**  
Len & Handy  
**F3R9**  
Fluffee & DJ

Ruffy bid those in bed a good night, and jogged back down the stairs where Flippy, Len, and the handcuffed DJ, were waiting.

"So, what's going on?" Flippy immediately asked.

"With what?"

"With him." Flippy jerked a thumb at DJ, who was still looking out that window.

"Ah, yeah, um… How do I put this…" Ruffy stumbled, trying to find the words to explain.

"We think DJ's the killer." Len said, saving Ruffy from having to explain it all.

"Any reason as to why?" Flippy asked, and Ruffy sighed.

"It's a long story."

"Give me the condensed version."

"Alright, well-" Before Ruffy could elaborate, his police walkie talkie went off.

"_Ruffy, come in Ruffy!" _Rager's voice scratched from the radio, and ignoring the looks Len and Flippy were giving him, Ruffy stumbled around and answered it.

"Yeah?"

"_We have a sighting, repeat, we have a sighting!"_

"Wait, what?"

"_Oscar saw someone dragging what looked like a body around on one of the camera feeds! Damnit, I told you to make sure everyone stayed there! Especially our number one suspect."_

"But-"

"_Me and Oscar are going after him. Ruffy, you stay there and make sure everyone stays where they're meant to." _And with that note Rager clicked off, and Ruffy looked up in confusion.

"I don't understand." He said, looking at DJ. "You're the killer, but…"

DJ actually chuckled. "You still don't get it, do you?"

"G… Get what?"

DJ had to fight to keep from laughing. "What on earth makes you think the killer is acting alone? Has it not occurred to you that there might, in fact, be TWO killers, working as a pair?"

"Wha… But… Two…" Ruffy was speechless. Seeing the blank look on Ruffy's face finally tipped DJ over the edge, and he fell to the ground laughing insane laughter. "And YOU'RE supposed to be the police officer!" He managed to say between gales of laughter, as Flippy and Ruffy looked at each other with identical looks of horror.

* * *

Rager and Oscar ran through the forest, heading in the direction of where the camera had picked up the movement. With any luck they could catch him before he got too far. The two slowed as they entered the area the camera panned across, and they tightened their grips on their police issue pistols.

"Oscar, you circle around." Rager whispered to his fellow officer. The plan was to circle around, try to catch the killer from both sides. It had worked successfully enough in the past, would it work tonight? Oscar nodded briskly, and hurriedly ran left, intending to bank around and hopefully trap the killer between himself and Rager, leaving Rager to slowly continue forward through the pouring rain.

It was several minutes later when he heard shouting.

* * *

Oscar jogged through the rain, his pistol held in front of him, ready to fire at the slightest mishap. Thanks to the weather radio contact with Rager, or anyone for that matter, was impossible, and Oscar had to rely on his instincts.

"HELP!"

Oscar whipped around, in the direction of the voice, pistol ready and aimed.

"SOMEBODY, HELP ME, PLEASE!"

Oscar pushed through the bushes in front of him, running in the direction of the voice as it steadily grew louder. As he pushed through a particularly large fern he could just make out a body, motionless yet the shouting did seem to be coming from it.

"HE-ELP!"

Oscar slowly approached the body, the voice growing louder and more desperate, and with a final leap he leapt through the bushes into the clearing.

The body made no movement, and the voice kept shouting. Oscar stepped forward, and took a closer look at the 'body.'

It wasn't a body at all. It was a sack of rocks, arranged to look like a body lying down on a table. And the voice?

"HELP ME!"

A simple tape recorder, at the 'head' of the 'body.' Oscar grinned, and reached over to flick the recorder off.

* * *

Rager ran forward upon hearing the shouting, blundering through the bushes and nearly tripping over tree root. Though he avoided tripping over tree roots, he unknowingly tripped a tripwire.

"_Ouy tiawa snrut dna stsiwt…"_ A voice whispered from all around Rager, and he spun around in panic and partially fear.

"HELP ME!"

Rager spun to the sound of the shout, and ran through the bushes in front of him. He could see a figure standing over a body, with the shouts resounding through the air, and he aimed his pistol at the figure.

"FREEZE!" Rager shouted. The figure made a motion of turning, and Rager reflectively pulled the trigger.

**BANG.**

The figure stumbled, and fell backwards against the body as the round from Rager's pistol struck him chest. Rager darted forward, into the clearing, and immediately checked the body.

"What the…?" Rager muttered as he saw the pile of rocks, the tape recorder. Rager looked at the kneeling figure he just shot in confusion, then the figure looked back at Rager and Rager's face turned into a 'O' of horror as he realized who he just shot.

Oscar stared quizzically at his fellow officer in confusion as the realization of what just happened settled in. Oscar's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and he slumped to the ground, dead thanks to a bullet wound to the chest as Rager stood back, horrified.

* * *

Not the worst death, in physical regards, but certainly one of the more physcological ones. Poor Oscar.

Review if you want to.

~ DJ.


	15. They're Fucked

As TOSTRwafflz requested…

CONFIRMED DEAD: Russell, Cro-Marmot, Scott, Mole, Mime, Sniffles, Crack, Lumpy, Disco, CrayZee, Drifty, Cuddles, Oscar, as well as several redshirts from the prologue.

Hope that clears everything up.

Thank for expressing your concern, Hank. I'm feeling awesome, my muse is more productive than ever, and I feel like hugging complete strangers.

That being said... *hug*

Now, chapter 15 of Bloody Vengence, They're Fucked. Enjoy.

* * *

"So, uh, what should we do?" Ruffy asked, as Len dragged DJ up the stairs to floor three. Flippy opened his mouth to answer, and then closed it again when he realized he didn't have an answer.

"I don't know." He admitted, and stifled a yawn.

"How about you go to bed? I'll keep watch." Ruffy offered, and after a short pause of deliberation Flippy nodded.

"When it's midnight, you wake someone else up and they'll take over. Okay?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Oh, and see if you can grab Rager or Oscar on the walkie."

"I've tried three times, either they're out of range or the weathers screwing up the transmitter." Ruffy said, waving his walkie around for added effect.

"Right, right… Well… Good night, then." With a slight tip of his beret, Flippy marched up the stairs, leaving Ruffy all alone in the reception area of the hospital.

"Great, now it feels like I'm in one of those classic horror movies set in an old abandoned hospital." Ruffy said aloud, and his voice echoed through the large building. Which only increased Ruffy's unease, as he continued to try in vain to call Rager or Oscar. And though he promised to stay awake until midnight, around 11:00pm Ruffy's head dropped down as he dozed away into sleep.

_

* * *

_

11:30pm

_I carefully make my way down the stairs, not stepping in the middle of the floorboards because that's where all the squeaks come from. I kept my feet on the edges of the stairs, ready to pounce if someone came around the corner. Since everyone in the building save for yours truly was already asleep, it was simply an act of caution._

_Now on the ground floor, I strode past the sleeping police officer to the large double doors that were the primary entrance to the hospital. Chancing another look at the officer (still asleep. What a great work ethic.) I pushed the door open slowly, mindful of any creaks and squeaks. I slid out into the pouring rain, hardly noticing the cold droplets of water striking me, and walked purposely to the treeline._

_I pushed through a particularly large bush, coming upon a small clearing, spying two figures who had yet to see me. I could distinctly see the bright yellow fur of one figure, slumped motionless on the ground, while the other figure was hidden in the darkness, only the outline visible._

"_Evening." I said, and the figure in the dark jumped about a foot in the air._

"_You took your time." The figure said, and I rolled my eyes._

"_Patience, a virtue which you lack,-"_

"_Yeah, yeah, whatever." The figure waved a hand at me dismissively, and my annoyance grew. "Here's the body." It motioned to the yellow lump of fur, which upon closer inspection I saw it was Cuddles, a knife still stuck in his chest._

"_I can see that. Did you do it, or-"_

"_Nah. Spades did."_

_I gave a small nod of satisfaction. Spades was slowly becoming one of us, even if he did still have moral issues. I picked up Cuddles like he weighed nothing, and turned to leave._

"_Wait." My accomplice grabbed my arm, and I had to resist the urge to rip his skull out and beat him to death with it._

"_Did, um… Is anyone wondering where I am?" My accomplice asked, and I could see the desperation in his eyes._

"_As far as I know, no-one's questioned your whereabouts. No-one's even asked about you. It's like you've just been erased from their lives." Which was true, I haven't heard anyone even mention my companion's name, despite the fact he was close friends with several._

_My accomplice bowed his head in disappointment, a small 'oh' escaping from his lips._

"_You go hide in the aquarium with that other one we found earlier, grab some sleep, and in the morning they'll find you, and you can blend in with them again." I ordered, and my accomplice raised an eyebrow._

"_Why?"_

"_So you can avoid suspicion. So you can strike from the inside. And because it'll be easier to formulate plans when you're closer to me."_

_The figure slowly nodded. "What are you going to do with his body?" It asked, again motioning to Cuddles._

"_Room F3R3. Someone wants to see him." I curtly replied. A quick nod, and the figure retreated into the darkness. I carried Cuddle's body back through the bushes, back to the hospital and opened the door, then froze._

_The police officer was gone._

_I immediately felt cold sweats of panic trickle down my back, and forced myself to calm down and think logically. Finally, when that small feeling of panic had shrunk down to the size of a nut, I opened my eyes and carefully looked around. The officer's radio was still on the bench, indicating that he would be back soon, and his dusty footsteps led to the male toilets, indicating that not long ago he had woken up in need of a toilet break._

_The industrial sound of water running through old pipes screeched, meaning that he had just finished and was washing his hands. This gave me about eight seconds before he finished , and I dashed across the lobby, sprinting into the stairway just as the doorway to the male toilets squeaked open._

* * *

Ruffy yawned and blinked sleep out of his eyes as he checked his watch. 11:33pm. Still about half an hour to go, and as far as he could tell, nothing had happened. He walked back to his post, and glanced at the exit/entrance to the hospital, and paused.

The door was open.

Ruffy was sure it was closed before he, well, dozed off, and he stepped towards it, his footsteps unknowingly messing up those of the killer, and as he neared the open doorway a cold draft struck him. Beyond the doorway, Ruffy could see nothing but darkness, as if a dark raincloud had descended over the island, blocking out all signs of life and consuming everything bar the hospital.

That last thought made him shudder, and Ruffy reached over and shut the door, the cold draft disappearing and making him feel slightly better.

Ruffy was too preoccupied with the door to notice the creaks of someone walking back up the stairs, and despite his promise to get someone else at midnight, Ruffy drifted off to sleep soon later.

* * *

5:58am.

Giggles sat up in her bed, in room F3R3, and yawned. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, mentally wondering how she managed to doze off in a place like this. Oh yeah, sleeping pills. Thank god for pharmaceuticals.

She glanced at the neighboring bed, expecting it to still be empty, but instead was pleasantly surprised to see the familiar yellow fur of Cuddles slumped half underneath the covers, facing the opposite wall.

"Morning, sugar." She whispered, not wanting to wake up anyone who might still be sleeping. When Cuddles made no motion to respond, Giggles got up out of her bed, and joined Cuddles in his. "I was worried about you," she said as she hugged her boyfriend. Suddenly, she froze, her cheerful expression turning into one of confusion. Her hands brushed against the steel handle of a knife, and she could feel the dried blood matted against his fur.

"Cuddles?" She asked nervously. She rolled him over so that she could see his face, and screamed.

Giggle's scream woke everyone else in the building, including the sleeping figure of Ruffy, still at the front lobby. Several rolled over in bed and tried to get back to sleep, a fruitless task. Giggles was still screaming when Flippy and several others burst through the door.

"Giggles, are you okay…" Flippy trailed off as he saw Cuddle's body, the knife still stick in his chest. That familiar feeling of flipping out began to grow, but Flippy managed to resist that urge. Len pushed past him, checked the scene, and immediately checked Cuddle's body for a pulse.

"He's dead." Len noted. "Someone shut her up!" He ordered, motioning to the still screaming Giggles.

No-one stepped forward. Len shook his head in annoyance, and crossed the room to Giggles, and promptly slapped her. Giggles immediately quieted, the starts of a bruise forming on her cheek, and her shouts were reduced to sobs of anguish.

"The hell's wrong with you?" Sparky said, pushing past Len to Giggles. She helped the crying chipmunk to her feet, and led her out of the room, giving Len a death glare as she passed him.

"I'm here, what happened?" Ruffy proclaimed, covered in sweat from having to jog up three flights of stairs in twelve seconds. He answered his own question as his eyes settled on Cuddle's body. "Oh."

"Okay, everybody clear the room!" Flippy ordered, waving his arms in a 'go away' motion. "Clear the area."

Rectuantly, the crowd of observers departed. "Meet in the lobby!" Flippy shouted after them, almost as an afterthought.

* * *

About ten minutes later, when Ruffy had sealed off room F3R3 with police crime scene tape, everyone awake had converged in the ground floor lobby, some sitting in stunned silence, others whispering on what happened, and others slowly nodding off to sleep.

"… 13, 14, 15, 16, 17." Ruffy counted the heads, then frowned and recounted. "Flippy? We're missing some people."

"Who?"

"Rager, Oscar, and DJ."

Flippy very nearly slapped himself. How could they forget DJ? "Rager and Oscar are probably still out on patrol, and DJ's still handcuffed to his bed." He reasoned, making Ruffy feel slightly better. "You go get DJ, he's probably wondering what the hell is happening."

"I have to climb those steps again?" Ruffy moaned, looking quite disappointed.

"There is an elevator." Flippy pointed out.

"I don't think it works."

"Then, yes, you do have to climb those steps again."

Ruffy moaned again in exasperation, but begrudgingly began the trip up the stairs as Flippy took another look around the room. Half of those were half asleep, and Fritz had already fallen asleep, mumbling German under his breath, freaking the nearby Fluffee out. Pike looked like he was about to join Fritz in sleepyland, but every time would yank his head back up. A small group, including Flaky, Petunia and Sparky, all tried to console Giggles, who still looked like he was about to burst into tears at any point, at one of the double couches that had been found behind the lobby desk. Next to the stairwell, Pop was trying in vain to shush Cub, who didn't like being woken up at the ungodly hour of six am. At every cry by Cub, Handy would flinch and clutch (?) at his aching head, pounding thanks to his massive hangover. By a vending machine, the Shifty & Lifty were having a whispered discussion on how to steal the goodies from said vending machine, though neither looked particularly awake enough to even try to steal something. And finally, Niki and Sikks were talking about their dreams they had the night before, Sikks of course not mentioning the R-rated stuff he dreamed about.

"Flippy, Flippy!" Ruffy's voice cried out, his footsteps becoming louder as he trampled down the stairway. "Flippy!" Ruffy emerged from the stairway shouting, catching the attention of everyone, not just Flippy.

"Ruffy, what is…" Flippy trailed off when he saw the object in Ruffy's hand. The steel glinted in the fluorescent lights, and Flippy could see the police serial number carved in the side of it, 4815162342.

It was one half of a pair of handcuffs.

"He's gone." Ruffy said, eyes wide with panic.

* * *

More or less at the same time, Spades walked down the main street of Broadshore Island, which was utterly devoid of any life whatsoever, as though the rapture had come overnight and whisked those pure of heart away to a great heavenly place, leaving those 'unclean of the soul' behind. Spades had watched some old movies like that a few years ago, and each time he convinced himself that he was a good person and would not be damned to hell for all eternity.

Though his recent actions were giving him second thoughts.

Still, if there was a God, surely He would understand? God himself ordered the slaughter of millions back in biblical times, so God would understand Spade's actions, right?

Right?

Spades was jerked away from his thoughts when he finally found what he was looking for. A pay phone, old, decrepit, and covered in graffiti, but hopefully it would work. Spades leapt upon it, held the receiver to his ear and punched in the numbers of his home phone number, praying that it would go though and that Laces would pick up.

"Come on, please please please…" Spades closed his eyes and crossed his fingers, and when the familiar click of the call connecting resounded he nearly jumped with relief.

'Brrrrrrrrrrrrring. Brrrrrrrrring. Brrrrrrrrring.' But with each ring, the relief slowly faded away, and the thought that something might've happened to Laces spiked up in his mind as his worry grew. Eventually, the ringing stopped as the call transferred to the answering machine.

'_Hi!' _The voice of Laces came through, bright and cheerful, the exact opposite of what Spades was feeling right now. _'You've reached the house of fun, starring me and my brother Spades!' _Fun was one way to put it… _'Neither of us are here at the moment, but if you leave a message I'll gladly call back! Hugs!'_ Then the standard 'leave a message' beep.

"Laces, it's Spades." Spades blurted, hurrying to say all he could before the time was up. "Look, something's happened on the trip," Spades didn't want to mention anyone's deaths, particularly those who he had a part in. "Until I get back, don't open the door to anyone, don't talk to strangers, be careful, okay? Laces, stay safe, I lov-" The end of message tone sounded, finishing the message before Spades could say all his warnings.

Spades stared at the receiver for a minute, as if perplexed to why it had cut out. Then he slowly placed the receiver back in its hold, and collapsed against the phone booth wall, head in hands. It was a great feeling to hear his sister's voice again, but her choice of words, specifically 'Neither of us are here right now' sent a small shiver down his spine.

"Morning, Spades."

Spades jumped about a foot in the air, grabbing the receiver of the payphone, ready to use it as a weapon if necessary. He looked at the new arrival, and lowered the receiver hesitantly.

"DJ?" He asked in confusion, and then noticed the stitches on DJ's chest, the dried blood on his face, and ½ of a pair of handcuffs hanging from his right wrist. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Well, when you're in a bomb blast, it doesn't really give you the greatest makeover." DJ said, shrugging his numerous injuries off. "So what happened to you? Last time I saw you, you were running for your life."

"Uh… I got… Lost." Spades said, his eyes giving away the lie. DJ nodded, though if he knew Spades was lying he didn't say so. "Is, um, everyone else okay?"

"Oh, sure. Everyone survived the bomb blast. Fluffee's leg got burnt, Pike got a damaged eardrum, I got a branch impaled in my chest captivity. Good times, good times." DJ pointed at the payphone. "If you're wondering where everyone else is, they're over at the Hospital, about a two-hour trip walking back that way." DJ thumbed back from where he had come from, and Spades raised an eyebrow.

"You walked for two hours?"

"I had a couple of pit stops here and there, but more or less two hours, yeah."

"And why aren't you with everyone else?" Spades asked as DJ sat down next to him.

"It's complicated."

"Give me the condensed version."

"They think I'm the killer, or at least a killer. Even if it wasn't at this hellhole." DJ fixed Spades with a look that said something like 'You've killed too; I can see it in your eyes.' Spades shifted under the gaze, but as quick as it happened the look was gone. "Look at that sunrise." DJ said, nodding his head at the sun rising in the East. It was a wonderful sight, the bright yellow sun sending rays of orange across the sky against the gray clouds and making the dark silhouette of the boat that brought them here stand out. It was a sight that made Spade's heart rise, just a little bit.

"It's beautiful." Spades agreed.

"Pity." DJ muttered, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Why?"

"It's probably the last sunrise any of us will ever see."

The two sat in silence as DJ's words slowly sunk in. They'd be lucky to last today, let alone a week. Spades could probably survive longer if he followed orders, but everyone else? No.

"Hey, DJ?" Spades asked, and DJ averted his gaze from the rising sun and glanced at Spades.

"Yeah?"

"How many do you know that are still alive?"

"Including you, about twenty, give or take." DJ replied after a short pause. He coughed, spat something onto ground, and pushed himself up, one hand holding his ribs.

"Always nice talking to you, Spades." DJ said, looking over at the sunrise again.

"Nice talking to you too." Spades cautiously replied, as DJ started walking again, slowly heading East, toward the sun. As the figure of DJ slowly disappeared into the distance, Spades got to his feet too, stepped over the small lob of blood DJ spat out, and began the two hour walk to the others.

* * *

"Okay, who here has seen DJ today?" Flippy asked in the audience.

No-one responded.

"Fluffee? You were his roommate."

"Er…" Fluffee looked at anything but Flippy. "Well…"

"Fluffee."

"I don't… Know?" Fluffee stuttered, an obvious factor that he was lying.

"You know it's against federal law to lie to a police officer?" Ruffy asked, and Fluffee became more nervous.

"Um… He… Er… He made me pinky promise not to tell you."

"You can't break a pinky promise." Niki chimed in, nodding. A chorus of agreement followed this remark.

"I've had enough of this." Len snarled, stepping towards Fluffee with a scowl of anger on his face. Fluffee took an uncertain step back, then another, then before he knew it he was pinned up against the wall.

"This is your last chance, Fluffee." Len said. "Where is DJ?"

"I don't know…" Fluffee stated, before Len punched him full flush in the jaw.

"HEY!" Flippy yelled, as he and Ruffy began to approach Len. Len pulled his fist back, and punched Fluffee again, this time in the stomach. Before anyone could reach him, Len struck Fluffee a third time, right on the temple, and Fluffee's head dropped, and his body more or less collapsed against the wall, sliding down to the floor.

Flippy forcefully pulled Len back as Ruffy checked on Fluffee. "He's alive, just K.O'd." Ruffy said after checking for a pulse. No-one really heard him, as the resounding 'crack' of Flippy slapping Len in the face caught everyone's attention instead.

"WHAT THE FUCK, MAN? CALM THE FUCK DOWN! WHAT IS YOUR FUCKING PROBLEM?" Flippy furiously shouted, very close to flipping out. For his part, Len simply stood there glaring at Flippy, eyes full of anger. There was a long silence, as everyone in the room looked from Flippy, to Len, back to Flippy, etc.

Finally, Len spoke. "I would've though you of all people would understand." Len pushed past the army vet, the crowd parting to let Len through, and he walked down the long hallway of the hospital, his footsteps echoing, his figure eventually disappearing as he turned around a corner.

"Is… is he okay?" Niki asked, referring to the motionless body of Fluffee.

"Yeah, he's just K.O'd." Ruffy answered awkwardly. "Hey, uh, Flippy, you want to help me, um, carry him to a bed?"

"Yeah, sure." Flippy said, running a hand through his hair as his anger slowly faded away. "Floor three?"

"Afraid so." Ruffy said, grabbing the arms of Fluffee. "You grab his legs, and we'll carry him up the stairs."

"Gotcha." With a heave, the two picked up the limp body of Fluffee, and began carrying him up the stairs. Everyone in the crowd watched them go, and once they disappeared up the stairwell they were still silent.

"Hmm." Pike wondered aloud.

"What?"Flaky asked. Pike held up the remaining half of the handcuffs, holding them high for everyone to see.

"They've been chewed through." He said, pointing to the bitemarks around the chain that would usually link the cuffs together.

"… Chewed through? You saying that DJ chewed through his handcuffs?" Sikks asked in amazement. "Must have sharp teeth."

"You can do pretty much anything when you're soaring on adrenaline." Pike responded, shrugging. "But even then, it would've taken a few hours to grind down the cuffs enough to snap the chain. He's a determined son of a bitch, I'll give him that."

"This is all his fault." Giggles whispered.

"Sorry?"

"This is all DJ's fault." Giggles looked up, her eyes shining with hatred. "He killed Cuddles, he made poor Fluffee get his face punched in by a psycho, and I bet he's planning which one of us to kill next." She looked up, so that everyone could see and hear the words she spat out next. "I'm gonna kill him. I'm going to fucking kill him."

The room was again sent into a silence, broken only by footsteps pounding down the stairwell, as Ruffy and Flippy reappeared back in the lobby.

"Alright…" Flippy said upon reentering. "Here's how it's going to work: Some of us are going to go out, and look for DJ until about 10 o'clock. The rest of you, stay here and catch up on your sleep. Any volunteers on the searching party?" He looked around at the silent crowd, and it was a few seconds before anyone answered.

"I'll come." Sparky said, putting her hand up.

"Sounds fun. Sign me up!" Niki spoke up, raising her hand too.

"Eh. Might as well." Handy muttered, waving his nub in the air. "I'm starting to feel like a background character."

"We'll join!" Shifty & Lifty said, simultaneously. Whether that was on purpose or by coincidence, nobody knew.

"Alright, start packing some supplies, like water and such. Everyone else, you stay here, look after Fluffee, catch up on your sleep, whatever. We're leaving in twenty minutes." And Flippy nodded, having finished his speech, and began to make his way to the break room as everyone else broke into whispers.

"Flippy?" Flaky asked, her face wrought with worry and concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Flippy said, smiling as he grabbed a glass and filled it with water.

"You hands are shaking." She pointed out. Indeed, Flippy's hand was shaking hard enough that his drink was almost spilling out.

"Just a bit energetic." Flippy claimed, setting the drink on the bench.

"Flippy-"

"I'm fine, really." Flippy gave her another false smile, but in his eyes Flaky could see exactly how close Flippy came to flipping out.

* * *

Handy stumbled his way back up the stairs, his mind set on two things: One, a nice cold shower to wake him up properly, and two: Getting away from this place of death.

If that meant leaving everyone else for dead to save his own ass, so be it.

Handy lurched sideways, the alcohol in his system threatening to make him vomit, but as quickly as the feeling came, it passed. Thankfully, by now he was on floor three (a lot of floor three action going on, no?) and an empty bathroom was just next to the stairwell.

He staggered into the bathroom, and the feeling to vomit grew. Handy fell to his knees in front of a toilet, and promptly spat out a lob or darkish brown chuck, moaning in disgust.

"I gotta stop drinking." He muttered, something he said after experiencing every hangover. Of course he would disregard this statement later on, but for now he had every reason not to drink. He gingerly got to his feet, staying mostly still as the sick feeling started to fade. He slowly counted to ten, and with each number the urge to vomit decreased more and more, until it was almost nonexistent.

Now feeling more or less better, he stepped into the shower, and attempted to turn the HOT/COLD taps, when he remembered that he had no hands.

"Fucking godmanit." He scowled, frustrated. And so he bit down on the HOT tap with his teeth and twisted it slowly.

The pipes rumbled and screeched as slightly warm water coarse through them, making an ungodly howling sound that masked the creak of the bathroom door opening.

_

* * *

_

I doubt anyone saw me follow the unarmed beaver. They were too busy talking amongst themselves to see anything but the things in front of their faces.

_That being said, I did take a quick look around before I slipped into the bathroom. It pays to be careful._

_The loud gnashing of the water running through the pipes masked my footsteps as I approached the now-naked beaver, and as he struggled with the HOT tap in his mouth I swiftly punched him on the back of the neck. A sickening crack resounded, and a second later something long and white fell out of the beaver's mouth. It was his buck teeth._

"_Fthuck!" The beaver swore, though now missing two of his teeth caused some speech problems. "You fthuckin asthole!" He lisped, and tried to punch me._

_Because he had no hands, the blow was completely ineffective. Seriously, who's ever heard of anyone getting beaten to death with a nub?_

"_You need to speak more clearly." I said, and showed him my knife as his eyes went wide with fear. "Don't worry, I think I can help you with that."_

_Handy tried to run past me, but I deftly slashed him at the back of his neck with the knife. I could hear the sudden gasp of pain and surprise as he collapsed to the wet floor, his legs falling out from underneath him like spaghetti. I think I severed his spinal cord._

_I strolled to my paralyzed victim, talking as much time as I could, to A) savor the moment, and B) give him a false sense of security. With another angled slash of my knife, I sliced off his left leg. Being paralyzed, he couldn't feel a thing. I rolled him onto his back, so he could see me in all my glory._

"_Missing something?" I asked politely, and before he could even begin to answer I held up his dismembered leg for him to see. A large amount of blood was literally pouring out of the stump of his leg, an obvious sign that I had cut his femoral artery. Even now, Handy was beginning to pale as he lost more blood._

"_You should've stayed as a background character." I advised, and took a large bite out of his leg as Handy passed out._

* * *

Long chapter, eh? Sorry about that.

Oh, and before you ask, no, Rager is not dead. He'll turn up in the next chapter.

And I've got another poll on my profile (yippee.). So as not to overwork myself, the winning option will be worked on only AFTER I finish either Bloody Vengence or Perception & Deception.

Review if you want to.

~ DJ.


	16. Did You Miss Me?

Man, I had the weirdest dream last night. I dreamed that me and a bunch of other guys were hunting each other, like on a sick reality show. I think I was the last one to die, when the winner beat me to death with a nail-studded baseball bat. It. Was. Fucking. Awesome.

My dreams aside, let's plow headfirst into the next chapter, shall we? Chapter 16, or Did You Miss Me?

* * *

"You don't have to do this, you know." Ruffy pointed out as he checked to make sure his 9mm pistol was loaded. Beside him, Flippy shook his head in disagreement.

"Actually Ruffy, yeah, I kinda do. Don't ask why, cos you wouldn't understand. Just… C'mon. The others are waiting." Without waiting for another response, Flippy marched over to the other members of the search party, and Ruffy quickly put his gun back in its holster and hurriedly followed him.

"Isn't Handy supposed to join us?" Niki wondered aloud as Flippy joined them.

"I haven't got a clue where he is right now." He replied. "But it doesn't really matter, we're heading off now. Got your drinks, your food, whatever?"

A chorus of 'yes's echoed back at him.

"Right, looks like Handy's missing out." Flippy shrugged, unaware that Handy was missing out a several things at the moment, like his life. "Well, let's-"

"Flippy, wait!"

As one, the group turned towards Flaky, who stepped towards Flippy with an expression of concern on her face.

* * *

"Let's give the two lovers some privacy." Ruffy said, and led the group outside.

"Flippy, please, reconsider." Flaky begged. "Please, Flippy, you're dead on your feet! Stay here, rest up, you don't have to go around parading after a killer-"

"And what makes you think staying here is any safer?" Flippy snapped, his eyes flashing the familiar bright green for an instant, before returning to their usual non-evil color. Then his face changed to an expression of concern when he realized he had momentarily let Evil out, even if it was just for a second. "Look, Flaky, I've got to go after him, okay?"

"Why? If DJ was the killer, and he did run away, then maybe he'll leave us alone."

"Yeah, and maybe Pop will let Fritz babysit Cub." Flippy sarcastically remarked, his eyes flashing green again for an instant.

"Flippy…" Flaky sadly shook her head. "When you're ready to listen to proper reasoning, I'll be waiting back here." And blinking back tears, Flaky turned on her heels and walked away.

* * *

"Alright, uh, here's the plan." Ruffy started, indicating to the map he had roughly drawn into the dirt outside the hospital. "See, we're-"

"Shouldn't we wait for Flippy?" Sparky interrupted.

"He already knows the plan, and besides, I wanna tell you guys while it's still fresh in my mind. So, anyway…" Ruffy tapped the sloppy shape he had drawn in the dirt. "This is a basic map of the island." He indicated to a large 'X' near the bottom of the dirt-drawn map. "This is where we are now, at the base of the hospital."

"What's that?" Niki asked, pointing.

"That's a rock."

"I see."

"And these, are us." Ruffy continued, and tossed some familiar silver monopoly game pieces onto the 'X'. "We'll be-"

"Can I be the car?" Niki interrupted again.

"No way, I'M the car!"Lifty said, reaching for said monopoly car.

"It doesn't matter who is what!" Ruffy exclaimed, slapping Lifty's hand away. "Besides, I'm the car. I'm always the car." He smugly said, cradling the monopoly car against his chest.

"Can we get on with it?" The voice of reason, more commonly known as Sparky, said. Ruffy shrugged, tossing his monopoly car with the other monopoly pieces on the map.

"Right, then. We are going to split into groups of two, and search different parts of the island. Team A will search to the East, around the docks, boatyards, aquariums, and such. Group B will travel West, searching the surrounding forest and rocky outcrops. And the final team will go North, up the main street. This final team will be known as Team C, or the C-men…" Here Ruffy paused, as if waiting for a laugh.

Silence greeted him.

"Nothing? Not even a titter? Tough crowd." Ruffy rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, before continuing his plan (albeit a little embarrassed). "Anywho, the teams will search their respective grids, until at least 9:30, in which they'll begin going back to the hospital to share their findings. Any questions?"

Sparky, Niki, Shifty and Lifty all raised their hands.

"Any questions that aren't about who gets what monopoly piece?"

Sparky, Niki, Shifty and Lifty all lowered their hands.

"Brilliant. Ah, Flippy! Nice of you to join us." Ruffy said upon seeing Flippy join the group. "I've just explained the plan to them, and now we're gonna decide whose gonna be in the A-Team, whose gonna be in the B Group, and whose gonna be C-men."

Ruffy's joke failed again, earning him an annoyed glare from Flippy.

"Okay, no-one likes that joke. I get it. Everyone just get into pairs!" Ruffy ordered.

Predictably, Shifty and Lifty immediately slid together. Sparky and Niki exchanged glances, shrugged, and paired up. This left Ruffy with the somewhat unstable Flippy, and Ruffy didn't exactly look overjoyed with the prospect of teaming with Flippy in his current state.

"Uh… I'm no doctor or anything, but maybe you should sit this one out." Ruffy reasoned. "I mean, well…"

"You look like you're about to keel over."

"You look like Black Death warmed up."

"You look like you just tasted the grimy stuff from the bottom of your feet."

"You look like shit."

"THANKS, guys…" Ruffy loudly said, silencing any other input from Sparky, Niki, Shifty or Lifty with a sharp glare. "You look sick, and everything."

"Don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine." Flippy reassured him, adding a strained smile. Ruffy nodded, and dropped the matter, but he was still kinda freaked out by the green flickering in Flippy's eyes.

* * *

"Fluffee. Fluffee, can you hear me?" Petunia asked, leaning over the unconscious Fluffee. Upon getting no response, she waved her hand in front of his face, again receiving little to no response. "Yeah, he's out." She declared, to absolutely no-one's surprise.

"I think we can see that." Pike said, leaning against the walls with his arms crossed. "The question is, what do we do now?"

"What do you mean?" Pop asked cautiously, cradling Cub in his arms.

"What I mean, is what's the plan?"

"Well, Flippy and the others just left to-" Petunia began, though she was quickly interrupted by Pike, now on a roll.

"Yeah, left to look for the psycho killer. We're never going to see them again, probably. But what are WE going to do?"

"Um… I don't know."

"Exactly!" Pike theatrically threw a hand in the air in exclamation. "You guys can mill around making idle conversation while waiting for death, but me? I'm going to actually do something!" Pike proclaimed, pointing at himself with each syllable.

"Oh?" Sikks asked, intrigued. He put a hand to his chin, trying to look thoughtful. "Like what?"

"Look around you, numbnutz! We're in a goddamned hospital! Medicine, tools, bandages, everything we need is here, and no-one's even bothered to look!"

"Are you volunteering?" Sikks questioned, one eyebrow raised.

"… Yeah. Yeah, as a matter of fact, I am. Anyone else want to make themselves useful?" Pike declared, his gaze alternating from each person in the room.

After a short silence, Pop shook his head and sighed. "Someone's gotta make sure you don't go and get yourself killed. Petunia, you mind looking after Cub?"

"Uh, sure." Petunia slowly said, somewhat overwhelmed. Pop nodded, and carefully passed the sleeping Cub to Petunia, making sure she had a firm grip on him.

"Alright, if we find anything helpful, we'll make note of it. C'mon, Pop." Pike nodded, and motioned for Pop to begin following him. Pop patted Cub once on the head, and followed Pike out the room.

"… Am I the only one who has a bad feeling about this?" Sikks asked after the two left. Petunia shook her head, and hoisted the sleeping Cub into a more comfortable position.

* * *

DJ staggered down the dirt road, the stabbing pain in his chest increasing with each heartbeat. His breaths were sharp and ragged, more like individual gasps rather than actual breathing. Blood slowly seeped out of his stitches, making a crimson red trail that etched down the left side of his body, soaking partially through his jean shorts, and finally dripping onto the ground, leaving a blood-marked trail behind him.

DJ, of course, was oblivious to this as he continued down the road, his mind more or less blanked out due to the pain. He shambled on, limping, dimly aware that with each step the pain intensified, until he fell to his knees, either in pain or exhaustion. He let out a groan that sounded like a dying man, and slowly crawled towards a large leaf tree, collapsing into the shade as his strength left him.

"I give up." DJ mumbled. Then he coughed, spat out another mouthful of blood, and leant back onto the tree. "I don't want to play anymore." He quietly said through bloodstained teeth, and closed his eyes.

* * *

"Remind me, bro. Why 're we here again?" Lifty asked, wiping the sweat off his brow as he climbed over several misshapen rocks and stones, dangerously shifting underneath his weight.

"I think you know, bro." Shifty replied, lending Lifty a hand over one of the more unsteady boulders.

"We're not looking for DJ, are we?" Lifty noted, not really asking but just clarifying.

"Nope." Shifty shook his head.

"Then why'd you convince us to sign up for this hike?"

"Because, bro, there's treasure around here somewhere."

"… Treasure?"

"Yeah, bro. Here, I'll show you." Shifty led his brother over to a dirt patch in the ground, picking up a stick on the way. He drew a large shape, similar to what Ruffy drew several hours ago, and tapped it. "See what this is?"

"A circle?" Lifty raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

"No, dummy! ... It's more of an oval…. Beside, that ain't the point." Shifty began drawing several more shapes on the oval, the most prominent of which was a deep 'X' near the west side. "See, while everyone else was sleeping, I decided to do some research. Turns out, there's some buried treasure somewhere out here." He tapped the 'X' to further illustrate this point. "So, I thought, what the hell. Might as well make this trip worth it."

"Wait, so you're saying, that you signed the two of us up for the Hike from Hell, to look for some treasure?"

"… Yep."

"Shifty, I fucking love you!" Lifty cheered. "In a brotherly way." He quickly added.

"That's what I wanna hear, bro!" Shifty cheered, and hi-5'd his brother. "Sadly, the instructions weren't very specific. All it said was that a Deadman's Treasure was located somewhere in the rocky outcrops, on the west side."

"A 'Deadman's Treasure'?" Lifty cautiously repeated, and Shifty shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, I know, it's a bit demotivational, ain't it?"

"The harder the challenge, the greater the reward." Lifty replied after a short pause.

"Who said that? Sun Tzu? Benjamin Franklin? … Murray the Red Wiggle?"

"… Fortune Cookie."

"Ah."

* * *

"Morphine… Prozac… Oooh, Chloroform! That'll come in handy." Fritz cheerfully noted, sweeping all the pharmaceuticals into his backpack and going to the next cupboard. He opened it, and was somewhat surprised that there was only one bottle in said cupboard. "Hmmm."

He picked up the bottle and held it to the fluorescent lights, reading the text on said bottle. "Vi…ag…ra. Viagra." He paused, pondering. "Why not?" He exclaimed, tossing the Viagra bottle in with the rest. Having cleared out this room, he hefted his bag over his shoulder and strolled out to door, in the direction of the next room. Still grinning, he opened the door-

-And ducked as a scalpel was thrown straight at him, bouncing off the doorframe and clattering down the hallway. He yelled a short series of swear words, and risked a glance at his attacker. "Giggles?"

Some would say that Giggles was feeling, erm, emotional. Unhinged. Shaken. By these recent events. Those of us who don't mince words would say that she had gone off the deep end. To say that she was 'emotional' at the discovery of Cuddle's body would be an understatement of epic proportions. Brandishing another scalpel in her hand, poised to throw it, her eyes had that look of desperation in them. She was in unfamiliar territory, her boyfriend lying dead beside her, and all traces of trust had disappeared.

"Giggles, jeez, take a chill pill!" Fritz exclaimed, hands raised in a 'surrender' motion. "Seriously, I've got a bagful here, I'd be happy to lend you some."

"I don't care." Giggles said, the scalpel trembling in her hand. "Just leave me and Cuddles alone."

"You sure? Cos-"

The scalpel flew out of Giggle's hand and impaled itself on the drywood wall next to Fritz's head.

"Point taken. I'll leave now." Fritz squeaked, and left, closing the door behind him.

* * *

Flippy and Ruffy trekked down the main street road, an uncomfortable silence hanging between them. Ruffy's hand kept subconsciously tapping his 9mm on his belt as he glanced unsteadily at Flippy, who for his part seemed to be ignorant of Ruffy's nervous antics as his eyes scanned the empty street.

"It's quiet." Flippy loudly said, shattering the silence and surprising Ruffy. Then, before Ruffy could say anything, Flippy added, "Too quiet."

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, it is." Ruffy nervously chuckled, and he opted not to point out that that was one of the most lamest cliché's he'd ever heard.

"It's not usually this quiet, is it?" Flippy curiously asked.

"Uh, no, it's not."

"Where is everyone?"

"I, ah, don't know…" Ruffy trailed off, as his eyes caught sight of the police station. "Hey, Flippy, hold up."

"What?"

"Just, just wait here for a sec." Ruffy requested, and approached the police station before Flippy could object. He stepped inside the station, shutting the door behind him, and called out. "Oscar! Rager! You guys here?"

The only response was the distant hum of the television monitors and the sound of shuffling through paper.

"Guys?" Ruffy took a step forward, and jumped as a loud bang resounded. He unclasped his 9mm from his belt and held it in front of him as he cautiously walked through the hallway. "Hello?"

No vocal reply, just the electric hum of the monitors and more rustling.

"Anyone here?" Ruffy eased open the door to the 'information room' and finally found a sign of life. "Rager?"

If Rager was focused on finding the killer beforehand, now he was fucking obsessed. His eyes were glazed over as he searched through large amounts of reports, flicking through one before deciding it useless and throwing it over his shoulder. The monitors on the wall showed various images, some of newspapers reports from over a decade ago, others showing the main suspects from the new arrivals, one curiously paused on Oscar's grinning face. Rager threw another useless file over his shoulder, where it landed at Ruffy's feet. Ruffy glanced at the headline, (Schizophrenic Lamb Still Missing! Connected to recent murders?) and looked back at Rager.

"Rager!" Ruffy shouted, holstering his gun as he approached his boss. "Hey, Rager!"

Rager didn't seem to hear his name being called as, as he was too focused on the files in front of him.

"Oi, Rager!" Ruffy said, and tapped his boss on the shoulder. Rager immediately dropped the files and spun around, gun already drawn, pausing when he finally saw it was Ruffy.

"Ruffy?" He said incredulously.

"Yeah, it's me, can you put the gun down?"

Rager slowly lowered the gun, back into its holster. "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you! Where's Oscar?" Ruffy asked, and Rager took a long time before answering.

"He's dead. He killed him." Rager said, pointing at the frozen picture or Oscar on one of the monitors.

"What? Oscar's dead?"

"Yeah. The Broadshore Butcher got him."

"Woah… We've gotta find this son of a bitch!"

"What do you think I've been doing?" Rager snarled, and Ruffy noticed the heavy bags underneath his boss's eyes.

"Rager, did you get any sleep last night? Any sleep at all?" He enquired, earning him an irritated glare from Rager.

"No. I couldn't. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't."

"… Well, why don't you follow us back to the hospital?" Ruffy offered. "We can give you some sleeping pills, an-"

"NO!" Rager interrupted, his obsession getting the better of him. "I have to find him!"

"And you're not going to do that if you're sleep deprived. C'mon, Rager. You need some sleep. You can't help us if you're dead on your feet."

"… Okay." Rager submitted. Ruffy flung Rager's arm over his shoulder, and led his out of the station. He glanced over his shoulder at the picture of Oscar, and quietly nodded once in respect.

"Rest in peace, Oscar. We'll find the sonofabitch who did this." Ruffy vowed, and although he didn't notice it, Rager involuntarily shivered.

Outside, Flippy, tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for Ruffy to come back out. He mentally debated going in after him or just continuing down the main street without him, but before he could make a choice, Ruffy staggered back out, Rager leaning on his shoulder.

"Look who I found." Ruffy remarked.

"Morning, Rager." Flippy lazily waved, and Rager returned the gesture in kind.

"Alright, well, we're heading back to the hospital now, so-"

"Wait, what?"

"Flippy, Rager's been up all night. He needs sleep. We're going back to the hospital, whether you want to or not." Ruffy argued, and Flippy growled. But before Flippy could retort, a new voice entered the mix.

"Back out of what?"

Flippy, Ruffy and Rager all spun in the direction of the new voice, Ruffy & Rager unholstering their guns and aiming, Flippy grabbing his bowie knife. The new arrival quickly put his hands up and backed up, almost tripping over but steadying himself at the last moment.

"Guys! Relax! It's me, Spades!" Spades pointed out, surrendering more or less.

Ruffy slowly lowered his gun, and after a short pause Rager did the same. Flippy did a double take, not believing his eyes. "Spades?" He asked, and sheathed his knife. "You're alive!"

"Yeah, I am." Spades breathed out in relief, lowering his hands to his sides. "Nice to see you guys, too. What's going on?"

"Oh, Ruffy and Rager – They're those two police guys there – are both going back to the hospital for some reason or another. I want to stay out here and look for DJ, but these guys won't take no for an answer."

"DJ?" Spades curiously raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, DJ. Hydrophobic cat with the goggles. You seen him?" Flippy asked offhandedly, not expecting a good answer.

"Uh, yeah."

It took Flippy several seconds to register that Spades had said yes, he had seen DJ. In those several seconds, he blinked twice, then slowly asked, "When, and where?"

"I dunno, an hour ago, maybe? He was heading up, uh, that way." Spades pointed in the general North area, basically in the direction of the boat, parked offshore in the other side of the island. "But I dunno if-"

Flippy had already pushed past Spades. "I'm going after him."

"Flippy-" Ruffy began, but Flippy wouldn't even stop and listen.

"No, you guys go back to the hospital if you want, but I'm not letting another one escape. Not again." And Flippy marched forward, determined, leaving a somewhat confused Spades, Ruffy, and Rager.

"… Alright." Ruffy finally broke the silence. "Spades, nice to meet you, you following us back to the hospital?"

"That's what I'm hoping." Spades nodded, suddenly feeling more tired than ever before. Killing people does that to ya.

"Awesome. Let's go."

* * *

"Wakey, wakey, DJ. Time to get up."

DJ stirred, then slowly opened his eyes. He blinked against the glare of the sun, and looked around for the sound of the voice. "Who's there?" He weakly asked, scanning his surroundings.

"Just an old friend." A dark shadow seemed to materialize out of nowhere, startling DJ. "C'mon, you get up." It said, and held out a hand.

DJ blinked, squinting against the glare of the sun. Then his eyes went wide as he noticed the light grey fur of a fox, clad in punk rocker gear, the emo-ish black hair of it lightly swaying in the wind. The last time DJ had seen this person, he was a charred body lying in the ship's boiler room, curtsey of the elusive murderer throwing him into an electrical grid.

"Scott?" DJ asked in disbelief.

Scott Winters grinned. "The one and only. Now are you gonna sit there and stare or let me help you up?" He wiggled his outstretched hand, and after a short pause, DJ hesitantly reached forward and clasped Scott's hand in his own. Scott swiftly lifted DJ to his feet, steadying DJ when he looked like he was about to fall back down. "Easy, man. Don't wanna fall back down now, do ya?"

"Aren't you dead?" DJ instead said, still in disbelief.

"Well, yeah." Scott shrugged. "Shouldn't let that change anything, though."

"… I must be dreaming." DJ mused, and Scott grinned again.

"Doesn't make this any less real." He reasoned. "Anyway, DJ, I need you to do a very important job for me."

"Do I have a choice?"

"There's always a choice." Scott stated, and strangely began to flicker. The image of whole, undead Scott shivered, and was suddenly replaced by the charred, blackened body of Scott, after he had been thrown into the electrical grid. DJ took an uncertain step back and stumbled, eyes wide with sudden terror. Then, Scott flickered again, and just as quick as it appeared, the burnt version of Scott was gone, the healthy, normal Scott reappearing in its place.

"Back in my room, on the boat that brought us all here, there's a special item." Scott continued, as if nothing had just happened. "It's hidden right before your eyes. I need you to get that item, and show it to somebody."

"… 'Somebody'?" DJ slowly repeated, unsure of what just happened.

"You'll know who. This person is not who he says he is. You can't trust him."

"Why does that sound so familiar?"

"No reason." Scott knelt down next to DJ, staring at a small patch of dirt beside his comrade. "But before you do that, before you can potentially save some lives, there's one more very important thing you gotta do."

"Oh yeah? What's that?" DJ curiously asked. Scott locked eyes with him, grinned, and placed a hand on DJ's shoulder. In that instant, Scott flickered again, and now it was dead Scott grinning and holding DJ's shoulder, to the latter's horror.

"You gotta wake up." He said, small blackened clumps of burnt flesh drifting away as he spoke. Scott's grip on DJ's shoulder tightened, and for the first time in a very long time, DJ screamed out of pure fear.

* * *

DJ's eyes shot open, and he quickly sat up and looked around at his surroundings. Breathing heavily, completely ignoring the reoccurring pain in his chest, he unsteadily got to his feet.

"Scott?" He shouted, going all 360 degrees around in a circle. "You there?"

The only answer was the light whistle of the wind.

"It was a dream." DJ mused. "It was all a fucking dream!" He cried out in relief.

His eyes caught sight of the ship, not that far in the distance. He looked around again, and ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, Scott." He said aloud, and began walking in the direction of the ship. "Let's see what you want me to find."

The wind whistled again, as if in reply.

* * *

Niki and Sparky trekked across the filthy, unkempt, docks, the rusted wooden floorboards underneath them creaking unsteadily. A fog had appeared a very dense fog in fact, making visibility beyond 5 meters hard. Thus, Sparky and Niki had taken the precaution of tying a rope to one wrist each, so they wouldn't be separated in the cloudy boatyards.

"Hello!" Niki shouted, her greeting echoing throughout the spooky docks. "Anyone here?"

No response, save for the piercing whistle of the wind and creaking floorboards.

"I don't like this." Sparky noted. "It's got '70's horror film' written all over it. If this is what normal docks where DJ's from are like, I don't blame him for being hydrophobic."

"I thought it was aquaphobic."

"Does it matter?"

"No, not really. Hey, anyone!" Niki shouted again. Her shout echoed, sounding more and more sinister with each fading echo.

"It doesn't even look like anyone's been here for years. Look, there's rust, dust, it's as if everyone simply forgot about this place for the… last… decade…" Sparky slowly trailed off, as her eyes caught sight of something on the floor. "Niki, what does that look like to you?"

"A moth." Niki delightfully replied, waving at said moth. Said moth waved back, and fluttered away.

"No, Niki, down there." Sparky pointed with her tied hand, wrenching Niki away from the moth for the time being. "Right there."

"That? That looks like… drag markings." Niki said, following the trail with her eyes. "And it leads to… The aquarium." She finished, pointing at the aquarium, just barely visible in the mist. A short silence followed Niki's discovery, broken only by the shrill whistling wind.

"What are we waiting for?" Niki dived forward, dragging Sparky with her thanks to the rope. She had just gotten to the large double doors of the aquarium when Sparky pulled her back.

"Niki, wait." She said, eying the large building carefully.

"Why?" Niki asked, then silenced when she saw the small ball of electricity growing in Sparky's free palm. "Oh."

Sparky slowly opened one of the doors with her non-electrical-gathering hand, the ear-scratching creak of the door easing open causing Niki to cover her ears. The two stepped into the aquarium, Sparky's glowing electricity illuminating the room enough for them to read several of the old, tattered posters, all dated 15 years ago or more.

"Sparky, look." Niki whispered, and pointed down the hall. Sparky squinted, raised her electric torch closer, and could make out two shapes, neither moving, but each distinguishable by their tails and fur.

"Hello?" Sparky cautiously called out. One of the bodies wiggled in response, shouting something through its gag and blindfold, while the other didn't move at all. Sparky and Niki dashed forward, the floorboards squeaking under their weight, and crouched down beside the two bodies. "Calm down." She said to the struggling one. "We're here."

Niki swiped the blindfold off of both bodies, and raised her eyebrows. "Toothy? Nutty?"

"Yes, it's me, can you untie me please?" Toothy asked, while beside him Nutty quietly slept.

* * *

"So what's your angle, boy?" Pop asked, as he and Pike trekked down the stairs, past Floor 2 onto Floor 1.

"What do you mean?" Pike questioned, glancing questioningly at his colleague as he looked around the junction of Floor 1.

"I mean, why you doing this? You could'a been perfectly safe just waiting upstairs, but you gotta do something. So why's that?"

"Just don't like sitting around, that's all. What about you? Why'd you decide to follow me?"

"Like I said before, someone's gotta make sure you don't get yourself killed."

"Right." Pike said, nodding a 'thank you' at Pop, then resuming his looking around. His eyes caught sight of a certain doorway, and he tapped Pop on the shoulder. "Hey, Pop. Do hospitals usually have basements?"

"Oh, yeah. Lots do. To store spare equipment, hold the boiler or furnace, whatever."

"That's a good place to start." Pike declared, and strode to the doorway before Pop could stop him. He pushed the door open, fumbling for a light switch, before finding it and flicking it on. Small, barely workable light bulbs popped into life, illuminating the small stairway that lead down into the basement. Pike bolding stepped down the stairs, and after a short pause Pop followed. Their footsteps echoed, and the temperature dropped so much they could see their breath. Pike reached the bottom of the stairs first, and looked around. If the main building looked old and forgotten, the basement looked lost in time.

Pike took several stepped forward in wonder, and as Pop finally exited the stairwell, coughing, he shouted. "Pike, wait! The floorboards are-"

That was all Pike heard before the floor underneath him collapsed, sending him tumbling down, crashing on what appeared to be the dirt floor of a basement, within a basement.

"Pike!" Pop shouted, rushing over and peering down the hole. "You okay?"

"Never better." Pike grunted, clutching his head where small droplets of blood leaked out.

"Wait here, I'll go get help." Pop said, and ignoring Pike's requests for him to stay, he disappeared.

Pike cursed loudly, and looked around. Apparently, this sub-basement was also connected to the hospital, as the lights in here were working, too. Old, brown walls, dirty, dirt-covered floor, yep. This place was a real work. At the very end of this room, was a door. Until everything else in here, the door looked new. Clean.

Pike glanced back up, shouted again, and upon receiving no answer, stepped towards the door. His head ached as he crossed the room, blood flowing freely from the wound on the back of his head. He pressed up against the door, listening for any sound. Nothing. Pike pushed the door open, and stepped inside.

Much like the door, this room was clean, to an extent. Apart from several splotches on the floor and walls, this was like a slightly more looked after version of the other rooms. The room, shaped more like a long hallway than an actual room, seemed to beckon Pike closer. And Pike did, stepping into the room and closing the door behind him.

Pike stepped slowly forward, brushing the cobwebs out of his face, and unknowingly stepped on a tripwire.

A large, wooden board swung out of the wall and struck Pike in the chest. Normally, this would only knock the wind out of someone, but this particular board was lined row upon row with vicious, jagged nails. The nails pierced Pike in the chest, pinning him against the wall, and Pike let out a pain filled scream as blood dripped down his chest, making a pool of blood on the floor. He kicked and struggled, trying to push the board away, but it seemed stuck fast. He shook his head in frustration, and shouted again, when his eyes caught sight of a small hook, dangling on a small metal chain, hanging from the ceiling. Two words, painted on the roof next to the chain, simply read: PULL THIS.

Pike reached up with his unpinned hand, blood starting to dribble out of his mouth, and tried to grab the hook. Sadly, it was just out of his reach, his fingertips brushing against the smooth metal teasingly.

"COME ON!" Pike shouted, straining upwards as much as he can. "_COME ON!_"

His hand clasped the hook, and now he tugged on it forcefully. The hook didn't budge. "_COME ON, YOU SON OF A BITCH!_" Pike screamed, blood now pouring out of his mouth, and pulled on the hook with all his might.

Finally, the hook gave way, and Pike tugged it down. A loud click sounded, and _another_ nail-studded board swung out of the wall, this time at head level. Pike didn't even have a moment to cry out before the nail-studded board slammed against his head, the nails piercing his face as the board crushed his head almost completely. Pike's body twitched, went limp, and the hook teasingly slid out of his grasp.

* * *

There we go. Those thought lost have now been found. We now have a definite choice of who the second killer is. Question is, who? Nutty, or Toothy? One's a killer, the other's a victim. Who do YOU think?

Until the next time I update, this is DJ Shifty, signing off. Later.

~ DJ.


	17. FailSafe

Stupid computer… Deleting everything I had… BV Chapters, P&D Chapter, DJ Chapters… Fucking everything. Godamnit.

I apologize for the late update, and hope you had a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays/Insert whatever you celebrate this time of year.

Oh, and short note: To those who haven't voted in my poll, I ask of you to please vote. The scores are pretty much neck and neck, and I've added some extra info to the choices to help you decide. Like what category it is and such. Please, I have great idea for both stories, and flipping a coin just seems unfair.

Now while you read this I'll be over here setting off illegal fireworks for New Years. Might wanna wear sunglasses or something, these bastards are big ones.

* * *

"So… You and Flippy going through some rough patches, then?"

"Sikks, I'd rather not talk about it."

"Right, right, sorry…" Sikks nodded once, seemingly understanding the fact that Flaky wasn't in a talking mood, and turned his attention to Petunia, who was looking out the closest window at the deep forest below with Cub cradled on her shoulder, sleeping happily without a care in the world. "Hey, Petunia." Sikks called out, startling Petunia from here trance-like state. "Is Fluffee still breathing?"

Petunia adjusted Cub into a more comfortable position, then leant over Fluffee's bed to see if he was still in the world of the living. "Yeah. Still K.O'd." She declared, and once again, silence ruled the room.

Until Sikks turned to Flaky and opened his mouth again.

"So does this mean you're single, or-"

"Sikks." Flaky said warningly.

"Sorry."

So silence ruled again, this time lasting a full minute before the sound of heavy footsteps hurrying up the stairwell reached the small group's ears. The group collectively glanced at each other, all thinking the same thing. '_Godamnit, now what?'_

The door to the room burst open, and Pop damn near collapsed in, gasping for breath and trying to tell them something at the same time. "You guys… need help… Pike… floor… collapsed…" He gasped, the result of running up three flights of stairs to reach them obviously having a negative impact on his health.

"Pop, calm down!" Sikks said, rising from his chair to help the old man up. Flaky did the same, and Petunia stood back holding Cub protectively. "Get your breath back, man. What happened?"

It took several seconds for Pop to recover enough to talk properly. "Me and Pike, we went down to the basement, while exploring. The floor collapsed under Pike, and he's stuck in a sub-basement of some kind."

"A basement, within a basement?" Sikks raised an eyebrow. "And I suppose you need our help to get him out?"

Pop only nodded, still getting his breath back.

"Alright, I'm in. Lead the way." Sikks said, waving a hand.

"I'm coming too." Flaky piped up. "I need something to do to keep Flippy out of my head."

"That's three for Team Pike Rescue." Sikks nodded, then looked at Petunia. "What about you, Pet? Wanna save Pike?"

"I'll leave Cub with Giggles." Petunia said. "Maybe looking after Cub can get her out of her depressive state."

"And that's four!" Sikks declared, clapping his hands. "Pop, you okay to show us where Pike fell?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Pop said, an obvious lie judging from the paleness evident on his face. "Just a bit tired. Not as healthy as I used to be."

"Yeah, we can see that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Petunia and Flaky both exchanged glances and rolled their eyes.

* * *

Lifty wiped the sweat off his brow as he and his brother trekked through the jungle. The morning sun mercilessly beat down on them, as the raccoon brothers stayed in as much shade as possible. They were hot, tired, but somehow still in a good mood. Nothing like a treasure hunt to get you motivated.

"Here." Shifty handed his brother a bottle of water. "Drink up." Since Shifty had the hat, he was slightly more cooled off than his brother, while Lifty had, really, nothing.

"Thanks, bro." Lifty gasped, grabbing the bottle and drinking a mouthful. "I think we need a rest."

"Yeah, good idea. Here seems like a good spot." Shifty said, sitting down in the shade. Lifty, however, didn't join him, instead looked off to their right quizzically.

"You hear that, bro?" He whispered.

"Hear what?" Shifty asked, but he could hear it too. The sound of splashing water. Either a river, or a-

"It's a waterfall!" Lifty declared, excitement in his eyes as he peered over several bushes to the waterfall. "C'mon, let's go!" And before Shifty could protest, he had already disappeared through the bushes towards the waterfall. Shifty silently swore to himself, before getting up and following his slightly younger brother.

"Bro, check it out!" Lifty exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Look at the view!" He pointed, and it truly was a great view. From atop this waterfall here, they could basically see the whole island, from the hospital to the docks, from the main street to the boat. Shifty glanced down the waterfall at the 20ft drop below, and whistled.

"Well, we could climb down, or-"

"CANNONBALL!" Lifty shouted as he pushed past his brother and jumped off the edge, dropping into the deep river like a stone.

"You always were the daredevil one." Shifty muttered to himself. "Lifty, bro! You okay?" He shouted, and in response Lifty burst up out of the river and laughed.

"Dive in, bro! The water's fine!" He yelled up towards his brother, who, for a second, questioned the sanity of his brother. Then he shrugged. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

"Make way for a pro, bro!" shifty shouted, then did a swan dive off the edge of the waterfall, dropping faster than Lifty did. And almost hitting Lifty, in fact. When he did resurface, he too was laughing madly.

"Ha, you call that a swan dive, bro?" Lifty asked, after he had finished laughing. "I've seen paraplegics dive better than that!"

But Lifty's comment was lost on his brother. While Lifty resumed swimming happily, something had caught Shifty's eye. Behind the falling torrent of water, the rocky wall behind it looked… Hollow, empty, something like that. Wordlessly, he swam towards the waterfall, peering at the rocky wall behind it.

"Hey, Lifty!" He shouted over his shoulder. "I think I found something."

Lifty was instantly by his side, squinting into the waterfall. "It looks like a cavern of some sort." He observed. Then he dived through the waterfall to the other side. "Holy shit, it IS a cavern of some sort!"

Shifty immediately joined his brother on the other side of the waterfall, and now he swore too. Some kind of cavern, dug into the rocky cliffs behind the waterfall, the inside of the cave shrouded in darkness.

"Let's see what's in it!" Lifty said, stepping into the cavern. Shifty wasn't listening, as he gazed at the rocky walls on cave entrance. They seemed to have some kind of strange language carved into them, although exactly what language was a mystery.

As Lifty stepped further in the darkness, he could make out shapes of… something. He grabbed his torch from his backpack, which was miraculously working after his waterfall dive, and switched it on. The bright light illuminated the cave well enough for Lifty to see that the shadows were hallways going to adjoining rooms, and he silently wondered how large this place was. His flashlight found a table next to the third entranceway, and, curious, Lifty stepped towards it for a closer look.

Meanwhile, Shifty's hands brushed the symbols on the walls, silent with amazement. His sweeping stopped on one particular symbol, which felt different from the other symbols, almost moveable. He squinted at the markings on this panel, slowly spelling it out.

"Efas… Liaf." He mumbled. What the hell was a Efas Liaf? Shifty's paws swept across the markings again, before curiosity got the better of him, and he pushed the panel.

Far above them, a faint 'click' was heard, then before Shifty could react, an explosion rocked the cave. The floor rumbled, dropping Shifty to his knees, as the roof began to cave in on the brothers! His survival instincts kicking in, Shifty scrambled for the exit, dodging as a rock the size of his head slammed into the ground beside him. He dived out of the cave, landing just in front of the cave as the rocks continued to fall.

It was then he remembered that Lifty was still inside.

When the initial explosion shook the cave, Lifty was studying the table with his flashlight. Or, rather, studying what was ON the table with his flashlight. It looked like an old, bloodstained hook... And the noted next to the hook said something like 'Russell…' Then the ground rumbled, and the light front the cave entrance was quickly disappearing. Lifty looked around with his flashlight, the light illuminating the roof, and his eyes widened in panic.

"Oh my god."

"Lifty! Get the fuck out of there!" Shifty shouted from the cave entrance, breaking his brother's paralysis. Lifty snapped towards the entrance, and he ran, knowing if he didn't get to the exit in time, there would BE no exit.

The exit was getting smaller and smaller as the roof cracked, sending more rocks down. Lifty put on an extra burst of speed, praying that he'd be fast enough, when a overhanging rock above his path dislodged from the roof and skyrocketed down towards him…

* * *

Rager seemed to be unconscious, as Ruffy half-dragged, half-carried him down the street in the direction of the hospital. Ruffy grunted underneath his superior's weight, but didn't complain in the slightest. Spades had offered to help carry Rager once or twice, but Ruffy politely refused each time.

"So how long have you been a police officer for?" Spades asked in a desperate bid to start a conversation. Anything, really, to drown out the voice in his head that kept screaming for him to confess.

"About a year, give or take a month." Ruffy replied. "And in all that year the most serious crime this place has had was public intoxication. Of course, that was before last week, when the Broadshore Butcher returned for another killing spree."

"Returned?" Spades asked, focusing on that one word. "This wasn't the first time?"

"Nope. I'm pretty sure it's happened before. Except the last spree was ten years ago. I think everyone thought the killer had either died or given up killing, but apparently we thought wrong. And you want to know the irony in this? The killings stopped just as Rager joined to force."

"Rager? He's been a cop for a decade?"

"Give or take a few months, yes. Hey, look at that." Ruffy noted as they turned around a corner. "We're here."

The large grey hospital stood above them, no less than a five minute walk away. To Spades, it looked old, rundown, and abandoned, but it was still a welcome sight. Spades grinned, taking a step forward-

"Hey, you. What did you say your name was?" Rager slurred, his attention fixated on Spades. Spades paused, the hairs on the back of his neck rising in sudden apprehensiveness, before glancing back at Rager.

"I'm Spades." He said, and Rager's eyes sharpened.

"Spades, huh?" Rager spat, his lob of spit narrowly missing Ruffy's foot. "Where were you between the hours of 6pm yesterday and 6am today?" He questioned, his tone taking that of an interrogation officer.

"Um… Sleeping." Spades nervously claimed.

"Sleeping, eh?" Rager nodded, and Spades almost sighed with relief. But before he could, Rager's eyes narrowed threateningly. "You're lying." And in one swift motion, Rager pushed Ruffy away, unclasped his 9mm, and had it aimed at Spade's head. "I'm going to ask you again. Where were you between the hours of 6pm yesterday, and 6am today?"

"Rager, what are you doing?" Ruffy shouted, too stunned to move.

"I-I was sleeping, I swear!" Spades exclaimed, staring down the dark black barrel of the pistol.

It was a full five seconds before anyone else made a sound. Then, Rager grinned a sick, demented grin, and cocked the 9mm. "You're lying." He snarled, and pulled the trigger.

* * *

DJ's footsteps echoed in the cold, empty ship, the fluorescent lights in the steel hallways casting an unnerving glow all across the inner sanctums of the boat. The waves crashed lightly against the hull of the ship, making a dull 'swash' sound every four seconds. Normally, that sound would've made DJ somewhat uncomfortable, but he was a tad bit too busy to concentrate on the water outside.

He munched contently on a poptart, having discovered that the food storage room wasn't locked at all, and deciding to make the most of it, grabbed a bottle of wine and the now-eaten poptart. "Excellent poptart, Jeeves." He called out to the non-existent butler. "My compliments to the chef!"

Then he silently giggled to himself. Ha, you know you're losing your mind when you're walking around in bloodstained shorts and yelled at a non-existent servant. Might as well grab a straightjacket and wait for the authorities. Another chuckle escaped him. The authorities? Ha. The police here are about as competent as the police force in The Simpsons. Oh, and they probably thought he was a murderer. Well, yeah, that was kinda true, but in no way was it connected to the Broadshore Butcher thingy. Hell, even a blind person could see that.

"Even Mole could see that!" DJ echoed, then laughed again as he remembered that Mole was infact, dead. He took a swig of the wine, and decided that he had wasted enough time on himself. Might as well try to find whatever the fuck Scott asked him to look for. Where was it again? In Scott's room…

"Hidden before your very eyes." DJ said aloud. "Why do dead people always leave riddles? Wouldn't it be easier to say 'Hey, it's over there' and save a shitload of time?" As if expecting an answer, probably from Scott himself, DJ quietened and listened. The only sound was the waves crashing against the hull of the ship. "But then again, the journey IS the destination." DJ mused. "Dunno who said that. But whatever. Onto Scott's room! I hope he cleaned up before he died, I don't want to see something I don't want to."

Taking another mouthful of wine, DJ waltzed out of the dining room, into the main hallway. A quick twist to the left, and he began walking past the bedrooms, all occupants gone. "I feel like I'm on the Mary Celeste." DJ pondered aloud, passing several empty bedrooms. Finally, he came to the room he was looking for: Scott's room.

"Open sesame." DJ politely said, before kicking the door open. With the exception of several magazines left on the floor, the room was neat and tidy. The bed was made, a guitar leaning against the bedframe, a mirror or the wall opposite the door, and a counter full of drawers opposite the bed. Naturally, DJ approached the counters first, and pulled the top drawer open. He immediately slammed it shut when he realized it was Scott's underwear drawer.

"I bet somewhere, you're laughing at this, Scott." DJ muttered, taking another drink of his wine. He glanced at the mirror hanging on the wall, his violet eyes meeting those of his mirror image. "I don't suppose you can help me here, can ya?" DJ asked his mirrored self, grinning, amused. Then, realization dawned on his face. He slowly approached the mirror, setting his bottle of wine on the countertop, and studied the mirror. It looked like it was literally hung up at the last minute, hanging on the wall with two pieces of string. DJ tentatively grabbed the mirror, and tilted it.

"Bingo." He said, his eyes widening at the sight of a small door, hidden behind the mirror. "I see what you did there Scott. 'Hidden before your eyes.' Points for originality." DJ lifted the mirror of its nail, viewing the door behind it in full. It was a small door, about the size of one's head, it's dingy brown a sharp contrast to the sleek grey of the ship's walls. DJ nodded, impressed. This was a homemade job, alright.

DJ glanced at the mirror in his hands, the image of himself staring back up at him. "Thanks for the help." He said to his reflection. "But I think I can handle it from here." DJ then tossed the mirror over his shoulder, where it narrowly missed the wall and landed in the bed. Not noticing that he had just barely missed out of getting seven years of bad luck (like it would've mattered in his current situation, anyway.), DJ grabbed the wooden doorhandle of the makeshift safe, and opened.

A small, sleek, burgundy-brown box peered back at him. With the hands of a surgeon, he slowly lifted it out of its hole in the wall, and studied the box. He blew some dust off the lid, and flicked it open to look inside.

"… Oooohhh..." DJ mumbled as he gazed upon his prize.

* * *

Like some kind of German ninja, Fritz crept through the hallways, silent as the night. The only sound was his backpack, the soft 'clinking of bottle of pills bumping around in said backpack. If he was going to act on his plan, he was going to do it now. He poked his head in the room, and grinned. Just as he thought. Fluffee was still out of it, and Cub was sleeping contently in a crib next to Fluffee. When Petunia thought looking after Cub would make Giggles feel better, she was obviously wrong.

"Hey, darling." Fritz whispered as he leaned over Cub's crib. "Wanna go home?"

Cub, being both asleep and a baby, said nothing.

"Of course you do." Fritz grinned, then carefully reached down and picked Cub up, shushing him when he made a few sounds. "I'm going to get us out of here."

* * *

All Shifty saw from his position was a large rock falling on his brother, then the view finally closing up as the rocks blocked the cave entrance. Shifty immediately grabbed one of the rocks, and tried to pull it aside, but damnit it was too heavy, and he gave up.

"Lifty! Can you hear me, bro?" He shouted through the rock blockade. Silence answered his shout. "Lifty, you okay?"

Then, a small cough.

Small and faint, but still a sign of life.

"Lifty, that you?"

"Shifty, it's all dark… I can't see…" Lifty's voice was barely above a whisper, and Shifty strained to hear every word. "I'm scared, bro…"

"Don't worry, bro, I'm gonna get you out of here!" Shifty yelled, but looking at the heavy rocks, he knew he couldn't do it on his own. "Wait here, I'm going to go get help!"

"Don't leave me, Shifty…" Lifty cried, yes, cried. Shifty could hear his brother sobbing, either in pain, or fear, he didn't know.

"You'll be okay, Lifty!" Shifty reassured his brother… And himself. "I'll be right back, I promise!" And resisting the urge to stay, Shifty tore himself away from his brother's tomb and began running, fast as he could, back to the hospital.

"Please don't leave me…" Lifty whispered.

* * *

Flippy marched down the main road, unsure exactly where he was heading, but following his instincts. However, his instincts were a bit, well… Annoying.

_You do realize none of this makes sense, right?_

"Oh, now you speak?" Flippy irritably said aloud. "You're silent for the whole trip, and NOW you decide to talk?"

_I've been thinking._

"I'll call the newspapers."

_Okay, first off, our deal's off._

"What deal?"

_The deal of me not killing anyone for this entire trip. Considering our current situation, I think me not killing anyone by the end of the week is a long shot._

"Which situation is that, the situation with the murderous killer on a rampage, or the situation that I'm slowly but surely losing control of you?"

_I like to think both._

"Now, what part of this doesn't make sense?"

_You. Going after a 'killer' all by yourself. With no backup bar me._

"You're all the backup I need."

_I'm flattered, really. But I can't help but question your sanity._

"I'm perfectly sane, thank you very much."

_You're having a conversation with yourself in the middle of the street and your left eye had been flickering green for the past hour._

"Doesn't mean I'm crazy."

_I think it does._

"Doesn't."

_Does._

"Doesn't."

_Does._

"Evil, I swear to god, if you don't shut your trap-" Before Flippy could continue his threat, he felt his foot land in something wet. He lifted his foot up to take a closer look, and raised an eyebrow. "Evil, are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

_You mean you standing in a pool of blood? Nah, missed it._

Flippy knelt down next to the puddle, studying it with a newfound interest. Whoever's blood this was, they must've laid still for a while for it to become a puddle as big as this. Well, that or they had been attacked so severely they lost a startling amount of blood and still lived. Flippy's gaze followed the blood trail to the edge of the puddle, where the trail switched to bloodied footsteps. Flippy subconsciously poked his finger in the blood puddle, and before he could stop himself, he had brought the bloodied finger to his mouth and licked it.

_That's feline blood._ Evil observed. _I'd recognize that taste anywhere._

"… Did you just make me lick blood?"

_Maybe. But look on the bright side, Flipper. At least now we know we're on the right trail._

Flippy wordlessly gazed at the blood trail, headed in the direction of the boat. And he subconsciously nodded.

* * *

"You're lying." Rager snarled, and pulled the trigger.

"Rager!" Ruffy shouted, and pushed the gun away just as his fellow officer pulled the trigger. His actions caused the bullet to go wide, missing Spade's ear by a fracture. Spades actually felt the heat of the bullet rushing through the air go past his ear, if it were an inch closer, he'd be a dead man right now.

"HE'S LYING!" Rager screamed as Ruffy wrestled the gun away from him. "HE'S ONE OF THEM!"

"Rager, calm down!" Ruffy ordered. That had pretty much no effect on his senior officer, so Ruffy silently asked for forgiveness, before whacking Rager in the back of the head with the pistol. Instant K.O.

"Sorry bout that." He said to Spades, who looked like he was still unsure of whether he was alive. "He's been sleep-deprived and everything. This murdering stuff is sending him over the edge."

"… Okay." Spade replied after a short pause. Loss for words? Probably.

"He just needs some sleep, I think, and he'll be fine."

"… Okay."

With one quizzical glance at Spades, Ruffy slung the K.O'd Rager over his shoulder, and entered the hospital. Spades stood where he was, still kinda stunned by what just transpired.

Until a voice broke his confusion.

"SPADES!"

Spades snapped towards the sound of the voice, just in time to receive a running hug from Niki, who, obviously, was glad to see that he was okay.

"Spades, I thought you were dead, cos we couldn't find you after Lumpy exploded, but as it turns out you're not dead, no, you're alive! And it's so good to see you okay!" Niki said, not stopping for breaths. Breathing is for the lesser-willed.

"It's nice to see you too, Niki… But could you let go, you're choking me…"

"Oh, sorry." Niki apologized, and released him from her death-grip hug. Spades patted her on the back as Sparky, Toothy and Nutty approached.

"Hey, Spades." Sparky said, shaking his hand. "What happened to you? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm just tired, that's all." Spades lied, forcing a grin.

* * *

Pop coughed sickly in the dusty air of the hospital basement, his hacking fit threatening to let go of the rope he was holding. Beside him, Flaky, also holding onto the rope, glanced at him worriedly. The two of them had volunteered to stay in the basement and hold onto a rope, which was used for Sikks and Petunia to lower themselves down into the sub-basement several minutes ago. Pop had been coughing ever since he entered the basement, probably due to the thick dust in the air, although his face was twisted into a pained grimace whenever he did cough, causing Flaky some concern for his well-being.

"Pop, you okay?" She asked, patting him on the back with one hand as she held onto the rope with the other.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Pop claimed, waving away Flaky's concern. "Just the air down here is a bit dusty for my taste."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

The two fell silent, both knowing Pop was flat-out lying, but neither wanting to confirm it.

"So…" Pop began, trying to make small talk. "How's things with you and Flippy?"

"You obviously haven't heard what happened this morning."

"Oh I heard. I just don't believe rumors until I get some proof."

"Well… Flippy wanted to go looking for the killer, and I didn't want him to. He's barely gotten any sleep since we arrived at this place."

"That's Flippy, alright." Pop dryly chuckled. "A stubborn bastard, he is. Always was, always will be."

Flaky managed a small smile, too.

"Say, Flaky… Um… Can I ask you to do me a favor?" Pop asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Sure, Pop." Flaky replied apprehensively.

"In case anything happens to me… I want you to look after Cub."

"What?" Flaky raised an eyebrow. This wasn't really what she expected.

"In the likely event that I, well… Expire, we'll say, can you look after my son? Keep him away from harm?"

"Uh, sure, I guess…"

"Thanks, Flaky. You're a good lad." Pop said, smiling, and patted Flaky lightly on the shoulder. "I hope you survive this."

Meanwhile, down in the sub-basement, Petunia was trying really hard not to hyperventilate. Christ, how could this place be so… Dirty? So dusty and everything…

"Hey, Pet!" Sikks whispered, bringing Petunia's attention to the door, which last chapter Pike went thought. "Check this out!" And Sikks pushed open the door. Petunia peered inside, and let out a small gasp.

It was white and clean, not a smudge of anything in sight! Sure, there was a small red patch on the left wall, but that was probably supposed to be there! Petunia breathed a sigh of relief, and immediately dashed into the room. "It's so… Clean!" She said, admiring the neatness of the room.

"I thought you'd say something like that." Sikks said, grinning. Petunia ignored him, as she stepped further down the hallway. Sikks glanced at the small red stain on the wall, noting how abstract it seemed in sharp contrast to the white walls, roof and floor. He glanced at the floor, and for a split second, a sharp reflection of light caught his eye.

Sikks knelt down on the floor, looking for whatever had caught his eye. Finally, he saw it: A razor-thin strand of wire, stretched at foot level from one wall to the other. Placed directly for some to trip over… Almost like a trip wire…

The pieces all fell into place.

The red stain on the wall… the trip wire… the absence of Pike…

Sikk's glare shot up to Petunia, who was far across the hallway, humming contently to herself, admiring the pristine walls…

Then the shiny reflection of more tripwires, scattered all across the hallway, flashed for an instant,, and Sikks knew they had just walked into a literal deathtrap.

"PETUNIA, STOP!" Sikks shouted, just as Petunia stepped on a tripwire.

* * *

The heavy rock had pretty much crushed his tail. Lifty knew this much. The flashlight had fallen out of his grip when the rock hit him, immediately switching off once it hit the ground. It was dark. Pitch black. Lifty couldn't see a thing.

"Shifty?" He whimpered. His voice echoed throughout the cave, almost mocking him. Lifty felt around with his hands, hoping to have some idea of what the place was like now. Instead, he nearly shouted with relief when his hand brushed against the handle of his flashlight. Grabbing it, he held it next to his face, and silently prayed that it would still work. He flicked the on/off switch, and held his breath.

A small flicker of light, dim in brightness and quickly fading, shone out of the light. Lifty nearly laughed with relief, before twisting over to see how big the rock that struck him was.

It was big, yes. It was heavy, yes. But could he push it off him?

Gripping the flashlight in his teeth, Lifty put his hands on the side of the rock, and pushed. The boulder tilted a little, before swaying back to its original position. Lifty gave it a harder push, this time the rock budged a considerable amount.

"Please… Oh, fucking please…" Lifty whispered, still holding the torch in his mouth. He mustered up all the strength he had, and have the rock a hearty push.

The rock moved, tilting backwards, before finally rolling off of Lifty's tail. Lifty gasped as he saw what was left of his tail, which was for the most part, crushed. A small cartilage of bone stuck grotesquely out of the end, and staring at it made Lifty feel like vomiting.

Instead, he dragged himself to his feet, careful not to put any pressure on his tail. A small trickle of blood ran down his cheek, reminding Lifty that his tail wasn't the only thing hurt, and he aimed the flashlight at the exit.

Or where the exit should be. Instead there was a shitload of rocks blocking it. Lifty's fear arose. He was trapped.

The sound of a pebble scattering caught Lifty's attention, and he spun around, trying to location where the sound had come from. A shadow flickered in the fading light, but just as quick as it appeared, it was gone.

"H-Hello?" Lifty said, and his greeting echoed in the cave. "Is anyone there?"

"Only me." Someone said from beside Lifty.

_

* * *

_

The younger raccoon screamed loudly. I think I startled him. He pointed the flashlight at me, almost sighing in relief.

"_What are you doing here?" He asked._

"_I could ask you the same thing." I replied, my irritation rising. "Do you know what I had to do to make this place hidden from the locals?"_

"_What, what place?" Lifty asked nervously, scanning his surroundings with the dying light from the torch._

"_Well, Lifty… I don't even have a name for it… But I believe your brother called it a Deadman's Treasure."_

"_Why's it called a Deaman's Treasure?" Lifty asked, fear evident in his voice as the torch reached the end of its batteries._

"_Because it's made from the treasure of my victims." I curtly replied, unsheathing my knife just as his light ran out. Whether he screamed from the darkness or from me suddenly stabbing him in the stomach, I'll never know._

* * *

Once again, apologies for the late chapter. FORGIVE ME!

Review if you must. That would be nice.

~ DJ.


	18. Revelations

BV chap 18

Okay, it's here! The chapter with the revelation/death I've been waiting several chapters to write! Trust me, you WON'T see this one coming!

Oh, and I finally named that damn boat that brought them here. Kept forgetting to name it for the past… eighteen chapters. Hehe, me and my forgetfulness.

**

* * *

**

Hospital, basement.

"PETUNIA, STOP!" Sikks shouted, just as Petunia stepped on a tripwire.

"What's the matter?" Petunia asked, surprised by her companion's sudden outburst. She began to turn back around, to face Sikks, but he suddenly yelled out and held up his hands in a 'stop' motion.

"No!" Sikks shouted, halting Petunia in place. "Petunia, you have to stay perfectly still!"

"Why?" Puzzled, but hearing the desperation in Sikk's voice, Petunia stood still, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Petunia…" Sikks began, his eyes darting all across the room. "Don't panic… But I think you're standing on a trap."

Petunia's first reaction was a kind of numbness, disbelief, in what Sikks was telling her. "What… Is this some kind of joke?"

"I hope so…" Sikks mumbled, slowly and carefully avoiding the tripwires as he approached Petunia. "Or else we're fucked, and not in the good way."

"Wha… what do you mean?" Petunia stuttered, unable to hide the growing fear in her voice.

"What I mean is, this entire room is covered in tripwires…" Sikks replied, his eyes scanning the floor for the wires he would have to avoid. "And you're standing right on top of one." He finished as he reached Petunia, kneeling down to inspect the wire she was standing on.

"… But... Surely, you joke-"

"Do you really think I'd joke about something like this?" Sikks interrupted.

"But… But…"

"Petunia, look at your left foot."

"Why?"

"Just do it."

Petunia did so, tilting her head down at the floor. "What am I looking for?"

Sikks didn't answer. From a moment Petunia thought he didn't hear her, but then he slowly reached out, next to Petunia's foot, and flicked the thin wire, at the moment being help in place by Petunia's weight. It shook, not enough to set anything off, but enough to catch Petunia's eye. "That." Sikks said, running a hand though his hair, his voice laden with fear as he looked back up at Petunia. "Still think I'm joking?"

Petunia was too shocked to reply.

**

* * *

**

DJ leant forward in the comfy armchair in the rec room of the _Mary Celestay_ (It had just occurred to him exactly how ironic the name of this god-forsaken boat was, considering their current situation), studying the small box he'd found hidden in Scott's room. He knew what the thing inside it was, of course. He's studied it sometimes, out of pure curiosity. Deadly in the wrong hands. Harmless in the right hands. Quite intriguing, really. Illegal, too.

"Bloody hell." DJ muttered under his breath. "What have you gotten me into now, Scott?"

Of course, no-one answered. There was not a single living soul here, save for DJ, of course. Scott was, of course, still lying dead down in the boiler room, along with fellow deceased ones Mole, Mime, and Sniffles. And they weren't talking anytime soon.

BANG.

DJ's ears pricked up at the sudden sound of a door slamming, followed by loud footsteps making their way down the steel hallways. DJ slowly got up off the chair, turning to face the direction of the footstep. He wasn't sure why, but he was suddenly filled with a sense of apprehension. A bad feeling, if you will. One hand gripped the small burgundy box as the footsteps slowed outside the large double doors. The doors were thrust open, and in strolled the final piece of this puzzle.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Len Spidd snarled, the smirk on his face immediately disappearing when he caught sight of DJ.

"Nice to see you too, Len." DJ replied, masking his sudden bad feeling with a confident grin. The hand clasping the small box tightened, as he now knew Scott's plan.

**

* * *

**

Hospital, Lobby.

"It's quiet." Niki noted as she, Sparky, Spades, Toothy and Nutty all stepped inside the Hospital. The cool air conditioning was a welcome change to the burning hot sun beating down on them, as Nutty, Toothy, and Spades all looked around in quiet wonder around the Hospital lobby. "Too quiet." Niki continued, not noticing that no-one was really listening to her.

"The good beds are on the third floor." Sparky told the three new arrivals, motioning to the stairwell. "Go grab some sleep, you look tired. Especially you, Spades. You look like you're about to pass out."

"Hopefully I'll be able to pass out on a bed." Spades responded, giving Sparky a strained smile. "Third floor, right?"

"Yeah. You'll have to take the stairs, though."

"Why?" Toothy asked, pointing to the elevator. "What about that?"

"Ruffy says it's out of order." Sparky recalled, as Spades began the long climb up the stairwell, his footsteps echoing in the building.

"Ruffy, right…" Toothy rolled his eyes. Sparky noticed this, but didn't comment. "Where's everyone else?"

"Shifty, Lifty and Flippy are all out looking for DJ, but they should be back by now…. Len chucked a hissy-fit, knocked Fluffee unconscious, and just walked away… Fluffee himself is still K.O'd upstairs, Giggles, Pop, Cub, Fritz, Flaky, Sikks, and Petunia should all be around here somewhere…"

"Over here!" Flaky's voice called out. "In the basement stairway!"

"There's a basement, too? How big is this place?" Nutty wondered aloud as he and Toothy began walking up the stairwell. Meanwhile, Niki had run to the basement stairwell, and poked her head through the doorway.

"Hell-oo?" She said, her voice echoing in the stairwell.

"That you, Niki?" Flaky shouted back.

"Maybe."

"Alright, wait up there, I'll come up and explain what's happened. Pop, you right to look after them for a minute? ... Thanks." The sound of footsteps, presumably Flaky's, echoed up the stairwell, as Flaky appeared in the doorway, shaking the dust out of her quills. "Hey, Niki. Sparky." She greeted the two arrivals with a quick hug.

"What's going on?" Sparky asked. "Where is everyone?"

"Oh, well, see, Pike got himself into a bit of a bother, and now apparently he'd fallen though the basement into another basement. Sikks & Petunia have volunteered to go look for him while Pop and I keep watch up here. Fritz, Giggles and Cub should still be upstairs somewhere. What's up with you? You're back sooner than I expected."

"We found Toothy, Nutty, and Spades, but no DJ. Either Shifty, Lifty, Flippy, or maybe Ruffy might still be on his trail."

"Flippy's still out?"

"Yeah. Sorry."

Flaky simply breathed a sigh of annoyance, irritation, or – maybe – longing in response.

**

* * *

**

Somewhere in the forest.

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word,  
Fritz's gonna buy you a mockingbird.  
And if that mockingbird don't sing,  
Fritz's gonna buy you a diamond ring.  
And if that diamond ring don't shine,  
Fritz's gonna kick someone's ass…  
And if that person sues your Fritz,  
Well… We'll be in deep shit."

Fritz's singing, if you could call it that, didn't seem to have a desired effect on the young Cub. Instead of quieting down the small baby, it seemed to have the opposite effect. Cub cried, loud, his cries echoing inside the forest where Fritz had taken a small pit stop.

"Oh, please stop crying…" Fritz begged, to no avail. "What are you, hungry? Thirsty? … Wet diaper?" Praying it wasn't the last one, he began searching though his backpack, rustling though the many pharmaceutical drugs he'd stolen from the hospital. His fingers clasped a baby bottle, full to the brim with warm (probably expired) milk, and he showed this to Cub. "This? Do you want some of this?"

Cub's only response was to attempt to snatch the bottle from Fritz's hands.

"Here ya go." Fritz gladly gave the bottle to Cub, who eagerly began consuming the contents. "You're going to make a great alcoholic someday." Fritz duly noted.

Silence ruled the small grassy clearing now, the only sounds were Cub sucking from the bottle, as babies do. Fritz leant back on the ground, and closed his eyes. Oh, who knew taking care of a baby would be so hard?

Suddenly, Fritz's ears pricked up, and his eyes snapped open. Approaching footsteps, coming fast! Fritz leapt off the ground, picking Cub up as he did so, and dived behind a large bush as the person approaching came to the grassy clearing, surprising Fritz who it was.

Shifty looked like a changed man. His usual cocky grin had been replaced with a desperate frown, and instead of the knowing twinkle in his eyes, there was naught but worry clouding them. Something's gone wrong, Fritz knew that much, but what? And where the fuck was Lifty? Those two are inseparable. Fritz crouched down lower behind the bush as he watched Shifty run past… Then silently swore as Shifty tripped over the backpack of pharmaceuticals he had accidently left behind.

Glancing back at what had tripped him, Shifty was expecting to see a rock, or at the very least a tree root, that had tripped him over. Instead, he was confused to find a small backpack lying on the ground for no apparent reason. Knocked over when Shifty had tripped over it, small bottles of pills now lay on the ground.

"The hell?" Shifty wondered, his brother's dilemma temporarily forgotten. His attention was quickly stolen by the sound of what sounded like a small burp. "Is someone there?" He shouted, listening for any response.

Fritz clamped a hand over Cub's mouth, praying that Shifty wouldn't investigate the sound. It would be a bit awkward to explain why he was standing in the forest with a backpack full of drugs and a child that wasn't his. Shifty looked around the clearing, before chalking it up to normal nature and paranoia. He shook his head, then near slapped himself.

"Fuck, Lifty!" He muttered, remembering that his brother was trapped in a rockslide and needed help. Giving the bag full of drugs one final quizzical glance, Shifty started running to the hospital. He needed help for Lifty, and fast.

Back behind the bush, Fritz breathed a sigh of relief.

_**

* * *

**_

Mary Celestay.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" Len Spidd snarled, the door behind him swinging shut with a soft 'click'. His almost-trademark scowl of irritation etched on his face, Len glared at DJ, hatred seeping out of his eyes, as the smartass cat regarded him with a absent-minded wave and a cocky grin… Oh, that cocky, smartass grin… Len wanted to beat his face to dust right now.

"Good morning to you too, Len." DJ either didn't realize, or more likely didn't care, that Len was giving him the evil eye to end all evil eyes. "How's the temper?"

Len growled, and in a flash had stomped over to DJ and seized him by the throat. Lifting him completely off the floor, Len shoved the cat – Why was he still grinning – up against the wall next to the fireplace. "You've got about ten seconds to tell me what the fuck you're doing here, before I punch that smartass grin off your face!"

Unbelievably, DJ shook his head, still grinning. "Oh, I wouldn't do that if I was you." He casually remarked, seemingly not minding that he was about six seconds away from the beatdown of the month.

"And why not, Mr. Know-it-all? Seems pretty tempting at the moment!" Len threatened, and DJ simply pointed to the small burgundy box on the coffee table.

"I think that would explain it better than I could." DJ said. Len glanced at the small box, then back at DJ. "Go on. Open it."

"What the fuck's inside it?"

"Only one way to find out, _Len_." DJ retorted, for some reason putting emphasis on Len's name with distaste. Len glanced back at the box, the urge to smash DJ to pieces very tempting, but his curiosity slightly outweighing his anger.

"Don't fucking move." He snarled, dropping DJ to the floor.

"Wouldn't dream of it." DJ replied, putting his hands in a mocking surrender motion. Casting DJ with a quick glance of distrust, Len approached the box, and picked it up. He studied it. Then, he flipped it open.

And immediately gagged.

The scent… The scent was doing more than stinging, it was burning… Len felt his nose, being the closest to the box, begin to blister… The smell was getting into his lungs, making breathing hard… The hand that held onto the box, the hand that several days again had been shocked by Sparky, began to sizzle and blacken… But worst of all, was the cloudiness in his head, ripping away what made him what he was… With a panicked shout, Len snapped shut the box and threw it across the room, where it landed next to a flower pot, and thankfully stayed shut.

"What the FUCK was that?" Len coughed, rather than said, as he fell to him knees, suddenly feeling very weak. He was hurting all over, sweat glistening on his forehead, and he felt like he was about to vomit.

"That was Kryptonut." DJ remarked, amused by what just happened. "But I would've thought that you of all people would know that, _Splendid_."

Len Spidd, or rather, Splendid, coughed twice, and glared hatefully at DJ.

**

* * *

**

Spades propped his head on a pillow on one of the vacant beds and sighed. Man, he felt so tired, he felt like he could sleep for the rest of the week. Assuming he could get to sleep, of course. His mind was racing: The guild of what he'd done, the fear that he may have to do it again. But most of all, concern for Laces. It wasn't often that Laces didn't pick up the phone. Hell, usually she'd run for it and grab it at the first ring. For it to ring, what, nine times, and Laces not to answer it, send a warning sigh flashing away in Spade's head.

He hoped she was okay. Spades didn't usually leave Laces home alone much. He'd always come back to a huge mess that, a sheepish grin, and the reassurance that 'Nothing too valuable was broken.' So for him to leave her home, without calling or contacting her… Oh god, he hoped she was okay.

It hadn't been lost on him that Laces suddenly had a quick change of heart before this trip, and pleaded not to go, whereas beforehand she was practically begging to go. Spades still wasn't sure what made her change her mind like that, but considering his current situation, he couldn't help but wonder if she knew something like this would happen. She did say she had a dream… But Spades wasn't exactly the type of person who took dreams seriously. Or nightmares, for that matter.

Like the nightmare he was in right now.

* * *

"_Not interrupting anything, am I?" I dryly asked, stepping through the doorway. Spades sat up in surprise, before seeing it was me and shaking his head._

"_Oh, it's you." He said, regarding me with a wary eye. "What do you want?"_

"_Quick and to the chase, Spades." I noted that he shivered when I said his name, probably ashamed of being associated with me. "I like that. Anyway, I just wanted to check up on you, see how it's going, making sure you're not going to crack under the pressure…"_

"_I'm fine…" Spades mumbled._

"_No, you're not." I shook my head. "You're worried about Laces… That's her name right?" He slowly nodded. "Well, don't you worry, Spades. She's fine, alive and well."_

_A look of confusion crossed Spade's face, and he narrowed his eyes. "How do you-"_

"_She's fine, Spades, and that's all you should know. But, I can assure you right now... If you show any sign of cracking, she won't be." Spade's eyes widened in worry, but I held up a hand to silence him before he could protest. "Here." I said, reaching into my pocket and flicking something at him. It landed on him lap, and he stared at it for a good few seconds before picking it up._

"_What is this?" He asked, although I'm fairly shut he already had an answer to that._

"_It's her wristband, Spades." I offhandedly remarked. "You know, that pink thing she wears on her wrist?"_

"_You son of a bitch." Spades swore under his breath as he dangled the wristband in front of him. Then he glared at me, a previously unseen ferocity burning in his eyes. "If you so much as hurt a hair on her head, I will fucking kill you."_

"_Spades, I promise you, she is perfectly safe for now, and as long as you follow orders she'll stay safe." I said, taking a wary step back. I don't think I've ever seen Spades this, well… Ferocious before. "Just keep it together. I'll get back to you soon. Sleep tight, Spades." I inwardly grinned, knowing that Spades probably wasn't going to sleep tight for a month, and exited the room._

**

* * *

**

Hospital, sub-basement.

"What are we going to do?" Petunia whispered, trying desperately hard to stay still as Sikks inspected her surroundings, possibly to try and find out what this trap was. Sikks was now looking at the walls, roof, and floor around Petunia, trying to deuce what trap this would be. Walls closing in? Acid shower? A boxing glove to the crotch?

"What we're going to do, is figure out how to get you back upstairs in one piece…" Sikks said, tapping the walls softly, frowning at the hollow sound.

"Sikks…"

"Hold on, Petunia." Sikks requested, studying the wall harder.

"Sikks!"

"What?" Sikks asked, turning back to Petunia, and immediately taking a step backwards. Petunia looked like she was hyperventilating... Of course, her OCD was acting up. How could he forget? The heavy dust particles in the air was no doubt ticking her nostrils, and if he didn't save her soon, she'd probably sneeze, and-

Oh, shit.

"Petunia, try to hold it!" He shouted, seeing her twitching, on the verge of a huge sneeze. He took a step closer, willing her not to-

"AH-CHOO!" Too late. Petunia sneezed loudly, reflectively stepping backward…

… Activating the trap.

"LOOK OUT!" Sikks shouted, diving forward and tackling Petunia out of harm's way as a loud alarm from somewhere below sounded. He managed to push Petunia out of the danger zone, but he himself was half-inside it, his left leg tangled in the tripwire.

Sikks suddenly heard a shrill 'fwoosh' sound from behind him, and before he could move he felt a sudden, stabbing pain shoot up his body. He opened his mouth to scream but no sound came out.

_**

* * *

**_

Seeing the well-known superhero on his knees, so very vulnerable, was slightly more disturbing that DJ anticipated. Thankfully, Splendid wasn't vomiting… Lord knows how much it would've cost to get that mess out of the carpet. No, Splendid was on his hands and knees, dry heaving, struggling to breath, and looking much less intimidating than he had before.

"Now that I think about it, it makes me wonder why I didn't see it sooner." DJ mused out loud, stroking his chin while Splendid slowly got to his feet. "I mean, the name, Len Spidd, was an anagram for Splendid. Nicely done, there. Then, then passenger manifest said Splendid was on the boat, but Len was not. And were we arrive, Len's on the boat, and Splendid's nowhere to be see-" DJ was unpleasantly cut off when Splendid socked him with a hard left. Even when weakened by Kryptonut, Splendid still packed a pretty solid punch. Enough to make DJ suddenly double over and gasp as the punch struck his already injured ribs.

"You fucking asshole." Splendid spat with such venom that the initial fear DJ had increased slightly. "You motherfucking asshole!" Splendid punctuated this by grabbing DJ by the throat – again – and lifting him off the ground. "You tell anyone, and I will hunt you down and fucking murder you. Is that clear?"

DJ's only response was a pained groan.

Splendid, far out of patience, shoved DJ up against the wall, his back scraping uncomfortably on the fireplace. "I said, IS THAT CLEAR?" Splendid roared, the epitome of fury at that very moment.

"Crystal…" DJ managed to whisper.

Satisfied that he finally got an answer, Splendid dragged DJ over to the doorway and threw him out the double doors with force. Almost like a dart, DJ sailed through the air before striking the steel wall of the hallway shoulder first. Stifling another pained moan, DJ only turned around, leaning back against the wall as the silhouette of Splendid loomed over him.

"You go back to the hospital. Now. Turn yourself in. And don't ever talk to me again."

DJ simply nodded, in too much pain to answer. Splendid turned back around, into the rec room, and closed the door behind him. Before they closed completely, DJ caught a glimpse of Splendid reaching for the small burgundy box.

**

* * *

**

**Minutes later, outside ****the **_**Mary Celestay**_**.**

"Note to self: Don't ever do what Scott says." DJ muttered to himself as he staggered down the gangway of the _Mary Celestay_, onto the docks of Broadshore Island. "And not mocking a deranged sociopath might be a good thing to keep in mind, too."

The pain in his shoulder had subsided, luckily, but the pain in his ribs hurt like fuck. Jeez, talk about a temper tantrum… When was the last time you've heard of _Splendid_ getting that pissed?

"Gotcha!" Someone yelled, and grabbed down on DJ's arm.

"Oh. Morning, Flippy." DJ said, wrenching his arm out of Flippy's grasp. "Long time no see, eh?"

"Don't play smart with me, Des."

"Who says I'm playing?" DJ raised an eyebrow at Flippy using his real name.

"What are you doing here?" Flippy asked, and DJ duly noted that his left eye was flickering a light green.

"I could ask you the same thing." He instead said, shrugging.

"I was looking for you, dimwit!"

"Oh, yeah, the whole murdering thing. I kinda forgot about that in all the excitement."

"What are you doing, here of all places? I know how shit scared you get around water, so what the fuck would you be doing on the boat?"

"Oh, just meeting an old friend." DJ lied expertly, shrugging it off.

The sudden explosion behind him caused both to duck to the ground as shrapnel flew through the air. The air blew Flippy's beret off, and the heatwave nearly burnt DJ's whiskers. Coughing on smoke, Flippy stole a glance behind DJ, and nearly fainted at what he saw.

The boat was gone. In its place was naught but a flaming wreck, the top half of it completely blown to pieces. The _Mary Celestay_ slowly began to sink beneath the waved as the steel hull gave way. Flippy, stunned, eyed a small piece of debrief that had landed at his feet, a small burgundy box. Glancing at DJ, Flippy was horrified to see that he was grinning.

"Bye bye, Len." DJ whispered, barely audible over the crackling fire.

* * *

Yeah, who saw that coming? Nobody, that's right! You, at the back, put your hand down! You didn't see this coming unless you're from the future! In which case… Awesome.

I knew a lot of you were suspecting Len/Splendid to be the killer, so this chap probably tossed a wrench in your ideas. So who do you think the killers are, then? Who will be the next victim? Will I take this long to update next time? Hopefully not…

~ DJ.


	19. Child's Play

Bloody Vengence chap 19: Child's Play

If this was a non-OC story, I'd probably be done by now.

Geez, why did this chapter take so long to write? Reason explained at end of chappie. Read it.

**

* * *

**

Hospital Sub-Basement.

"Hey…"

…

"Hey, c'mon, wake up…"

…

"Sikks, wake up!"

Dazed and groggy, Sikks slowly opened his eyes. The first thing that registered in his mind what that he couldn't feel his left leg. The second thing that registered was that Petunia was kneeling over him, her face awash with concern. The third thing that registered was the fact that Sikks now had an excellent view of Petunia's rack.

"Sikks, are you okay?" Petunia asked, and Sikks pried his gaze from the perfect view to Petunia's eyes.

"Uh… I think so." He said, looking around. He was still in that long, white hallway, with all the life-threatening traps and devices in it. "What happened?"

"I… I set off a trap. And… And you saved me." Petunia looked away, a twinge of shame flashing across her features. Sikks considered this for a moment, then remembered his numb leg.

"That's wonderful… but why can't I feel my leg?" He asked, and Petunia put a hand to her face.

"Well… The trap, when activated, shot needles out of the walls… I think they may have a paralyzing toxin in them, but I'm not sure… Either way, you got hit in the leg, and I'm not sure what to do now." She admitted, the word 'paralyzing' sending a small shiver down Sikks's spine. Sikks, somewhat dumbfounded, glanced down at his leg, and was thoroughly creeped out by several needles all embedded in the thick flesh of his thigh. He reached out, wrapped his hand around the closest one, and yanked it out with a sharp tug. A small bead of blood leaked out of the tiny wound, making a paper-thin blood trail as it slowly dripped down his leg.

"What the fuck is this?" Sikks pondered, studying the light gooey blueness of the liquid inside the needle.

"I don't know." Petunia said, shaking her head as Sikks pocketed the needle. "But we need to do something."

"Maybe we should go back upstairs." Sikks offered after a short pause.

"How? I mean, with your leg-"

"Not to make it awkward, but… I think you're going to have to carry me."

**

* * *

**

Beside the flaming wreck that once was the Mary Celestay.

As flaming debris shot all around him, Flippy was staring at what was left of the boat, hands clasped on his head in horror. A small spark of flame had set his beret slightly on fire, but at the moment, he was still too shell-shocked to notice. "Dear god, DJ. What did you do?" He gasped, unable to comprehend what had just happened.

Beside him, DJ shrugged nonchalantly. "I've done a lot, Flippy. You'll have to be a tad more specific than that."

"Did you blow up the boat?"

"No. Gotta admit, though, that was brilliant timing." DJ admitted, nodding approvingly.

"You… You… You…"

"DJ. Please don't say you've got memory loss."

"You… What… DJ…"

"If it makes you feel better, I'm pretty sure Lenny Von Spiddy was inside it. So that's solved one problem, what's for lunch?"

There was a short silence before it clicked in Flippy's head what DJ just said. "WHAT?"

"I said, 'What's for lunch?'" DJ repeated, checking his nails as a flaming piece of what was a chair flew over his head.

"Did you just say Len was in there?"

"Oh, good. Your ears still work. Fabulous." DJ clapped approvingly.

"DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'VE DONE?" Flippy exploded, not literally, but he was quite close to letting Evil out to play. Whether DJ was aware of this or not… Rather, whether he cared or not, was yet to be seen.

"I've got a fairly sure idea, yes." DJ bluntly remarked, tapped a finger against his chin.

"You just killed the one man who could save us all!"

"I think you're confusing 'save' with 'endanger.' Don't worry, it's a common mistake. You'll grow out of it."

"You didn't just kill Len, you moron! You killed Splendid!"

"Oh, you knew Len was Splendid too? How'd you figure it out? I used anagrams and cross referencing the passenger list."

"… Do you even care?"

"Not particularly, no."

"Jesus Christ, DJ…" Flippy shook his head, pacing back and forth anxiously. By now the fire had died down to small embers, and would soon disappear altogether as the remains of the boat sank beneath the sea. Flippy whipped out his mobile phone and checked it. "No signal…" He muttered in exasperation.

"Hardly surprising." DJ said, peering at Flippy's phone, which had this cute wallpaper of Flippy & Flaky in a loving embrace in front of a sunrise. "The killer's probably trying to isolate us. Cut us off from the outside world."

"How do you know this?" Flippy demanded, and DJ simply gave Flippy a look which said 'Seriously? I thought you knew me better than that.' Flippy sighed, tossing his phone back in his pocket.

"Looks like I'll have to escort you back to HQ myself. No funny business, DJ. I'm keeping an eye on you!"

"Which eye, the normal one, or the one that's flickering green?"

"Shut up and get walking."

* * *

Petunia stepped carefully over another tripwire, carrying Sikks uncomfortably in a fireman's carry. Sikks, strung across her shoulders, in sharp contrast, was quite comfortable. Another excellent view, but his leg was feeling more and more numb. He'd have to find out what was in that needle before the day was out.

"You keeping an eye out for those tripwires, yeah?"

"For the eight time-"

"Ninth."

"Thanks. For the ninth time, Sikks, yes. I don't want to cause any more accidents any more than you do."

Sikks only nodded quietly in response, as Petunia stepped over another thin wire, taking great lengths not to so much as tap it. Who knew what could happen next?

**

* * *

**

Hospital Basement

"You know, having pretty much and entire hospital to yourself gets pretty boring after a while." Niki noted, and Flaky glanced at her quizzically. "I mean, it's great, but it gets boring quick."

"Oh, does it?" Flaky asked. "I haven't been able to enjoy it that much, what with the whole 'killer on the loose' thing."

Pop coughed loudly and sickly, his dry hacking echoing in the basement. He put his free hand to his mouth as another series of raucous coughs exploded from his throat.

"Pop, are you okay?" Flaky asked.

"No." Pop admitted, his eyes watery. "I'm old, can barely breath down here, and I can't stay. Sorry, you two. I just can't stay down here, it's bad for my lungs."

"It's okay, Popster, me and Flakster can handle it from here!" Niki reassured him, though this only raised an eyebrow from both her companions.

"'Popster?'"

"'Flakster?'"

Niki only shrugged. "It sounded better in my head."

Pop shook his head and glanced at Flaky. "You'll be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go check on Cub, he's probably missing you."

Pop chuckled dryly, before coughing once again. He nodded 'good luck' at the two, and began ascending the stairs to the ground floor of the hospital.

**

* * *

**

Hospital Lobby

Unaware of anything going on just a few levels below her, Sparky sat in the swiveling receptionist's chair, a half-filled crossword puzzle on the desk in front of her and a pen in her hand. Tapping said pen against her cheek thoughtfully, she suddenly brightened up as the answer came to her.

"R…E…D…H…E…R…R…I…N…G. Red Herring." She boldly stated, filling in the blanks with the answer to 6 across. Grinning, satisfied, she moved on to the next clue, but the 'Red Herring' answer stuck in her head mysteriously for some reason.

**Down, 7: **_'To lie, trick someone maliciously. (7)'_

The first thing that popped into Sparky's head at that clue was 'Desmond.' She shook her head, stifling a laugh, and though about the clue. It crossed partially through 'Red Herring', so the fourth letter should be E, but the rest… Hmmm…

"That would be 'deceive.'" Someone behind her said, and a light purple finger pointed at the empty boxes, trailing down them with each letter. "To lie or trick someone maliciously. D-E-C-E-I-V-E."

Sparky very nearly jumped at the first sound of that voice, but calmed when the voice struck her as familiar. She glanced behind her and waved slightly at Toothy.

"What're you doing down here?" She asked as Toothy sat himself on the desk next to the crossword puzzle. "I would've thought you'd be sleeping or something."

"I wish." Toothy scoffed. "With the week's incidents, I can barely close my eyes. That, and Nutty snores."

Sparky suppressed a grin, and shook her head. "It can't be that bad."

"I'm surprised you can't hear it from down here. It's like cat's nails on a chalkboard while being sucked into a jet engine. I'm considering becoming an insomniac. Across 8 is 'Famous,' by the way."

Sparky glanced at the clue for eight across. _'What we want to be, yet only a handful of us are. (6)_' "You sure?"

"No. But it's the closest I can think of."

The sharp, sudden 'BANG' of the hospital front doors unexpectedly slamming open surprised the two, and, looking like he'd just ran a nonstop marathon, Shifty stumbled in, desperation etched on his face.

"Shifty? Where have you been?" Sparky asked, putting down her crossword puzzle and approaching the tired raccoon. "Geez, you look like you're about to pass out. Toothy, can you grab some water?"

"Sure." Toothy slowly said, regarding Shifty with a surprised glance, before disappearing to find a water bottle.

"Shifty, are you okay? What happened?"

"Lifty…" Shifty rasped, his throat horse and his voice barely audible.

"Shifty, I can't hear you."

"Needs… Help… Lifty… Trapped…"

Toothy reappeared at Sparky's side, a bottle of water in hand. Shifty graciously grabbed the bottled water and took several long mouthfuls, initially dry-retching for the first few gulps.

"Shifty, what happened?" Sparky asked.

"And where's Lifty?" Toothy added.

Now refreshed, Shifty shook his head as he spoke. "Lifty… Lifty's hurt… There was a rockslide thing, and he's trapped under it. He needs help."

* * *

Ruffy silently swore as his radio produced nothing but static.

"C'mon, you bastard, you were working this morning!" He angrily whispered as he dialed knobs and twisted switches. He glanced behind him at Rager, still K.O'd on the bed. When he woke up, he was going to be PISSED. And would have a headache, a major one, probably.

Ruffy would not like to be around from when his senior officer woke up.

Stepping outside onto the balcony that overlooked the huge sea, Ruffy tested the radio again, still getting nothing but static everywhere. Even the emergency shortwave system was getting nothing. That meant one of two things. Either his radio was broken, or someone had tampered with the satellite dish, rendering the entire island with no chance of contacting the outside world.

"Fucking ridiculous." Ruffy cursed, and was about to switched the damned thing off when he heard voices from it. Both familiar, one with a light British accent.

"_No, you are a murderer and that is final."_

"_That's not final, Flippy, and you know it."_

"_Whatever. This topic is over, I'm taking you back to the hospital, then Ruffy's going to throw you in jail, then we're all gonna be saved."_

"_Flippy, your temper is clouding your judgment. Don't look at me like that, I can tell that Evil's very close to escaping. Think about this, Flippy. Does these killings look like my M.O? No, Flippy. These killing, most of which are in a different manner, are either several people working together, or someone trying to re-discover the art of murder."_

"_The art of murder."_

"_Yeah. This killer, he's been killing for a long time. Maybe the entire time he was using the same method, which has grown stale over the years. So he's trying new and more brutal ways to eliminate someone. He's trying to re-discover why he began killing in the first place, what made it so addictive."_

Ruffy grabbed his end of the walkie talkie and quickly switched it on. "Special Officer Ruffy of the Broadshore Island Police Force here, do you copy?"

There was a short silence.

"_I thought you turned off the radio."_ The British voice said, and the sound of someone fumbling for the receiver could be heard.

"_Ruffy, that you?"_ The other voice said.

"Yeah. Is that you Flippy?"

"_Affirmative. The radio keeps dropping in and out of contact. Not sure why."_

"Same here."

"_I found DJ. I'm taking him back to the hospital now."_

"Fantastic. I'll meet you around the back, okay?"

"'_Kay. See you then."_

And then the click of the radio being turned off.

* * *

Pop hated stairs.

Sure, they're useful for getting up to higher floors, but in his old age Pop had began to despise the prick who made these. Why there just couldn't be ramps was a mystery to him. Or, better yet, they could use that elevator- no wait, that officer said it was broken. What was his name? Ruffy, or something like that.

"I'm getting too old for this." Pop moaned, wiping the sweat from his brow. Which was an odd thing to say, since he was only in his early forties. But his party-habit lifestyle back in the days definitely did bad things for his strength, stamina, and overall health. Things which he silently cursed as he stumbled up each step, slowly getting closer to the beds – and why did they have to be on the third floor? Why not the first, or even the ground floor? It would sure as hell be easier on his joints. But noooo. God forbid anything goes right on this forsaken holiday.

Finally, after what seemed like a marathon, Pop arrived on the third floor, huffing and puffing like a poor imitation of the Big Bad Wolf. Rather, the Medium-Sized Slightly-Disapproved Wolf. Or, realistically, the Old Fart of a Bear. Seeing his son's room just ahead of him, a short burst of energy spiraled through him. Putting on a confident smile and with a light swagger in his step, Pop sauntered towards Cub's room and quietly pushed the door open.

"Daddy's here." He whispered, expecting to hear a familiar gaggle of joy from his son.

Silence was the only greeting he received.

Shrugging it off as Cub being asleep, Pop tip-toed over to the small, bright-blue cot, being careful not to make any noise. He peered into the cot, and the smile disappeared from his face.

_

* * *

_

Spades stretched, yawning, as he sat up in his bed. The bright, yellow sun peeked out from behind the blinds, reassuring Spades that today would be a good day. Spades managed to smile at that, and turned around to behold the best sight he had seen.

"_Laces!" He exclaimed, throwing the bedsheets from his and approaching his beloved sister._

"_Hi, Spades." Laces cheerily said, holding out her arms for a hug._

_Spades obliged, sweeping Laces off her feet in the tightest hug he could muster, one that said 'I will never let you go._

_And then suddenly there was blood._

_Too much blood._

_Blood dripping down her face, rendering her usual cute look with a thick liquid crimson back._

_And she was screaming._

_Screaming in agony._

_And there was blood, more blood, flowing faster._

_She was dying, dying, dying._

_And Spades was still hugging her corpse, frozen in horror as she writhed and became something that was nothing like Laces, more like something out of Stephen King's nightmares._

_And there was blood._

_Where was all this blood coming from…_

"Laces!"Spades cried, awakening with a start.

Laces wasn't there.

No.

Someone was there.

Him.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" He said, eyebrows raised in mock concern. Spades put his face in his hands trying to convince himself that THIS was a dream, that he had never gotten aboard that damned ship, that he had never been forced to kill, and that he was back home with Laces, watching TV and poking fun at the actors.

That's when banging from the hallways arose, and Spades looked up in confusion.

"What's going on?" He asked, and his companion wagged his finger teasingly.

"Nothing to do with you, Spades… However, I do have a job for you."

Spades simply groaned in response.

"I thought you'd say something like that."

* * *

"WHERE IS HE?" Pop screamed, overturning the bed, cabinets, everything that wasn't bolted down, in search of his son. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE WATCHING HIM!"

Giggles looked at him with apathic, dosed-up eyes. "I had better things to do." She slurred, eyes going in and out of focus. God knows what she's been doing.

"FUCK!" Pop swore loudly, something he rarely did. Then, in a burst of anger that not many had seen in the likes of him, he kicked Cub's cot to its side, slipping blankets and several child toys to the floor. He kicked it again, splintering the wood, and was about to kick it a third time when a flash of moss-green caught his eye.

A small, piece of fur, stuck on the edge of the cot.

A piece of fur that, until recently, had been stuck on a certain green beaver.

"Fritz, you fucking Nazi son of a bitch."

**

* * *

**

Southern docks

Fritz is smart. Much smarter than he looks, believe that. If it wasn't for a few breakdowns here and there, he'd probably he a high-paying lawyer or something. But that's the past, something that no matter how you try, you can't change.

Which is, when he discovered that there was a killer hunting then down, he studied the island's locations in search of a good hiding place. Or, alternatively, a way to escape.

The original docks were out of the question. No doubt it would be under police surveillance. The Western docks were also a no, as the map marked those with such words as 'HAZARD' and 'NO ENTREZ' and the always cheerful 'AVOID AT ALL COSTS.' So it was a welcome surprise when Fritz found the map also said a small, private docking ground was just an hour-long south walk of the hospital. It said nothing about it being dangerous, and since the only way off this damned island was by boat, Fritz was going for all-or nothing. If there was a free boat there, he'd commandeer it and escape to safety. If not, then he'd swim if he had to. But he couldn't do it alone, no. He had decided that someone should come with him. Someone who deserved to live more than anyone else… Bar himself, of course.

That someone was Cub.

Someone as young as Cub sure as hell didn't deserve to die at the hands of a sadistic killer, right? And Fritz was fairly sure that Pop had been mistreating the small bear. Sure, he had no proof, but who cares?

Speaking of Cub…

The small bear had fallen back to sleep against Fritz's shoulder. Fritz patted the baby lightly on the back, as he slowly exited from the forest and arrived at the entrance of the private docklands. The mesh-steel gate, which normally would be locked, swung open, creaking back and forth in the wind. The absence of anyone struck Fritz as strange. Didn't this town have a population of, like, 100+ yesterday? Where was everyone?

Shrugging it off, Fritz stepped through the open gate into the docks, scanning around for a boar, or even a canoe. He saw some work tools lying around next to a wooden shack, as if abandoned as their previous owner had fled for his life, but there tools weren't those that would normally be abandoned in times if violence. A hammer, a screwdriver, and most importantly, a nail gun.

Fritz approached the discarded tools slowly, instantly suspicious when he saw that the hammer had stains of blood on it.

A soft 'creak' of the floorboards shifty made him spin around.

No-one was there.

He was alone, with Cub.

No-one else.

Still casting a glance around suspiciously, Fritz carefully put the still-sleeping up on the floor, leaning him against the wooden shack, and picked up the nail gun.

Now armed and more sure of himself, Fritz looked around. Still, no-one. But his eye did catch sight of a dried bloodstain on the doorstep of the old shack.

'Creak.' That creak again! Fritz whipped around, aiming the nail gun in the direction of the sound, but again, saw no-one.

Suspicious, Fritz stayed still for a full minute, and only relaxed when that minute expired with nothing happening.

Turning back to the shack, he cast the bloodstain on the ground with a curious glance, before pushing the front door open.

And instantly gagged.

The body had to be at least a day old. A young dockhand, by the looks of it. Someone had caved this poor bugger's skull in… Possibly with the hammer. Barely readable through the huge bloodstain was his nametag, 'ANDY.'

'Creak.' That fucking creak and OH GOD THE CREAKING WAS RIGHT BEHIND HIM-

Fritz didn't have time to react before two huge, muscular hands were wrapped around his throat from behind. Desperate, Fritz swung wildly with his nail gun, struggling against the tight grip. He tried to aim the nail gun behind him and shoot the killer, but missed everytime! Fritz was beginning to black out, when suddenly he was released.

A confused cry of a baby filled the air.

Cub.

Fritz, struggling to get air back into his lungs, spun around in time to see the killer stepping ever so closer to the baby bear, who was regarding the person before him with a terrified glance. A small cry escaped Cub's throat as the killer bent down to pick him up.

"NO!" Fritz shouted, aiming his nail gun and shooting wildly. The killer dodged out of the way, and the volley of nails struck Cub.

Fortunately, the young baby died almost instantly, most of the nails imbedding themselves in his head. A few struck his body and arms, and one on his leg, but that was about it.

Frozen in horror at what he had just done, Fritz stared at Cub's crucified body in disbelief. He had worked so hard to save him… and ended up killing him! This wasn't fair! _THIS WASN'T FAIR!_

So distracted by his tragic mistake, Fritz didn't even notice the killer had picked up the bloodied hammed, and only realized it when the killer swung it, hard, at his forehead.

* * *

The reason this chapter took so long to write was because of that last scene. Fritz inadvertedly killing Cub. Writing down a child's death was harder than I thought it would be.

I think I dropped a clue here and there about a killer. Guessed on the killer's identity are welcomed.

~ DJ.


	20. Burn

I would just like to take this time to say: HOLY SHIT. Bermuda had about 20 reviews within the first 12 hours! Holy hell, that's gotta be a record of some kind… This tells me one of three things:  
A) People are genuinely interested in the Bermuda Triangle,  
2) People honestly like my writing skills, or  
?) You add 'Accepting OCs' in the summary of any story and people will flock to it like fat people to chocolate.

I do hope it's not the last option. In fact, I am wondering that if none of my stories were 'Accepting OC's, then they wouldn't get as much attention. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy some OCs (not all. See: Mary Sues, Flippy rip-offs, etc.), but let's think of it from the perspective of a reader with no OCs. They check out the HTF section of FanFiction, and 24/25 stories on the first page are featuring OCs that they haven't heard of. Therefore, none of those stories will interest them.

So I am proposing an experiment.

The next story I write, which will be decided in yet another poll, will feature NO OCS AT ALL. Let's see if it can be as popular with the people when they are unable to submit their OCs into the story. And when I say no OCs at all, I mean it. Not even DJ will appear in the story, which is kinda unfair since all these stories are basically his ideas, but he agrees that this experiment must be done.

Now, back to business: Chapter 20 of Bloody Vengence, Burn.

* * *

**Hospital, 3****rd**** Floor.**

Somehow, Pop wasn't that surprised to find out that, of all people, Fritz had taken Cub. Pop had never really liked Fritz, let alone trust him. He never exactly knew why. A bias against the Germans for their actions during the second World War? Who knew. Pop certainly didn't. It was just instinct.

Instinct which was now making him tear apart Fritz's room in search of a clue as to where he had disappeared to.

And when I say 'tear apart', I mean that quite literally. The bedsheets had been thrown askew, the curtains ripped off their hinges, the drawers opened and the contents spread out across the floor. All in search of a clue.

Pop finally sat down on the bare mattress of the bed, breathing heavily in anger and frustration. He'd found nothing, nothing that could pinpoint where Fritz had taken Cub. Sure, he found a magazine of _Dominatrix Weekly_ hidden in one of the cupboards, but he wasn't looking for cheap porn. He was looking for his son.

He punched the pillow beside him in frustration… then again in anger… and then again for the hell of it.

A slip of paper fell out of the pillowcase.

Pop paused mid-beatdown of the pillow, then snatched the paper off the floor. Unfolding it once, twice, three times, his eyebrows rising when he saw it was a map.

A map of the island.

And the southern docks were circled in red ink.

* * *

**Hospital, Basement.**

"Flaky! You up there?" Petunia's voice wafted from the hole in the floor, slightly surprising Flaky who, up until that moment, had been sitting against the wall in an almost sleep-like trance.

"I'm up here too!" Niki answered before Flaky could say anything. Unlike Flaky, Niki had done anything but stay still.

"Me and Niki are here, what's happening? Did you find Pike?" Flaky asked, sending a glancing in Niki's direction.

"Uh… no, not really… But, um… Sikks kinda got injured." Petunia replied after a short pause.

"Injured? What happened?"

"I'm not sure, but there was a trap of some kind and he got stabbed with a needle, and I had to carry him over here-"

"Wait, so Sikk's with you now?"

"I'm fine, by the way." Sikks shouted up in response.

"Nice to hear you, Sikks. Alright, Petunia, tie this rope around his waist-" Niki indicated to the rope hanging in the hole, one end of which was tied around her wrist. "-and me & Flaky will lift you up. Then we'll do the same to you."

"Alright, sounds like a plan." Petunia replied. "Sikks, hold still."

* * *

"C'mon, hurry!" Shifty urged them on as he trekked through the forest. "He could be hurt, or worse…"

"I'm sure he's fine, Shifty…" Sparky panted, while beside her Toothy looked like he was having trouble keeping up. "Whoo, how far away are these caves?"

"Uh… I'm not sure." Shifty admitted at the three slowed to a brisk walk. "Um…" He now looked lost. "I think it was this way." He unsurely said.

"Did you just say 'I think?" Toothy muttered irritably. "Shifty, if you get us lost, Lifty won't be the only raccoon in danger."

"No, yeah, it was this way." Shifty said, oblivious to Toothy's threat."A'ight, c'mon."

"Sparky," Toothy whispered to Sparky as Shifty disappeared into the forest. "Am I the only one who has a bad feeling about this?"

Sparky paused. "… No." She agreed. "I've got this nagging feeling in the back of my mind like something about to go wrong."

"Me too… Say, Sparky, how well do you know Lifty & Shifty?"

"Not that well… What are you trying to say?"

"All I'm saying is, we can't trust everyone. One of us is a killer. And until we figure out who, we've got to be careful with who we trust."

Sparky was silent, quietly processing what Toothy was saying. She was about to say something in response when Shifty suddenly reappeared, brushing leaves off his arms.

"A'ight, it wasn't that way. My bad. Pretty sure it's this way now. Keep up this time, will ya?"

Sparky exchanged a look of knowing with Toothy as they followed Shifty thought the forest.

* * *

After helping Sikks up to the third floor, Flaky & Petunia carefully set him on an empty bed as Niki circled them, speaking 60 words a minute. Or possibly more.

"So what was it like down there?" She chatted. "Was it like a dungeon from the medieval times? Oh, that would've been awesome! Witches and wizards and dragons and knights and kings and queens and lots more which I can't remember right now! I'd make an awesome queen, you know, they'd call me Niki the First and Last, because there'd be no reason to replace me! Sure, there'd be some guys unhappy with it, but I think I can silence them. They'd be like 'We are jealous that we're not as awesome as you are, Queen Niki, so we're going to have a revolution and overthrow you with a boring king with the personality and charisma like a rock, not like you at all, is that okay with you?' And I'd be like 'No.' And they'd be like 'Oh, okay.' And then-"

"Niki." Sikks interrupted, seriously considering banging his head against the wall in an effort to knock himself unconscious. "Can you keep it down a tad? I've kinda got a headache."

"Oh…" Niki mumbled, and for a second Sikks though he had succeeded. Then… "I had a headache once. It wasn't fun at all. It was like a party in my brain and everyone was made of a heavy metal. And they were annoying, being metal and all-"

"Hey Niki!" Sikks had thought of an idea, one that could hopefully gain him some piece & quiet. "Can you lick your elbow with your tongue?"

"Of course I can." Was the cheery response. She then demonstrated that she could do so. Sadly, she couldn't. It IS physically impossible to do that, unless you're double-jointed… Or have a dislocated arm or something. But try telling Niki that. "I… can… do… this…" She strained, trying to reach her elbow with that tongue. "Almost… got… it…"

She's going to be busy for a while.

"What's going to happen to him?" Flaky asked, her and Petunia whispering to each other by the window, out of Sikk's earshot. "What happened?"

"Like I said. He got shot with a needle." Petunia replied, keeping a wary eye on Sikks.

"What's in it? The needle?"

"I don't know."

The two fell silent, and Flaky looked out the window. Then, she gasped. "Flippy." She whispered.

"Hmmm?"

"Flippy's back." Flaky motioned out the window, and Petunia followed her gaze. Waiting in the grassy knoll behind the hospital, was Flippy, looking slightly worse for wear. Indeed, half his beret seemed to be missing, and there were ash marks on his jacket. Next to him, DJ sat on the grass, the half of handcuffs that were still attached to his wrist glinting in the sunlight. Ruffy was quickly approaching them.

Petunia absent mindedly reached into her jacket, and brushed the needle hidden inside the inside pocket. An idea occurred to her suddenly.

"Niki, Sikks, me & Flaky will be right back." She said, and without waiting for an answer she & Flaky quickly scurried from the room.

* * *

"Wow, you got him." Ruffy said, approaching the two. "Where was he?"

"I found him just in front of the ship." Flippy said. "It exploded about a minute afterwards."

"Great timing, but not my fault." DJ called over from his spot on the lawn, arms crossed behind his head as he faced the sky. "That cloud looks like a bird." He observed.

"He's a determined little bastard, I'll have him that," Flippy admitted. "Damned good liar, too. So what happens now?"

"Now? I take him to jail, wake up Rager, pray Rager doesn't kill me, then we interrogate him." Ruffy said, counting the list off on his fingers.

"As lovely as that sounds, I think I'll give it a pass." DJ muttered.

"You don't exactly have a choice here, DJ."

"Damnit."

"Hey!"

The three all looked over at the sound of the voice, Ruffy & Flippy in surprise, DJ in curiosity. From the rear exit of the hospital, Flaky & Petunia stepped out. Flaky immediately locked eyes with Flippy, their silence saying more than words could. Wordlessly, Flippy grabbed her and hugged her tightly. "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier." He whispered. "I really am."

"I know." Flaky replied, and hugged him back.

DJ, indifferent to this public display of affection, laid back down and looked up into the sky. Petunia approached Ruffy, steering him away from the Flippy/Flakyness, and discreetly whispered to him.

"Ruffy, I need to talk to DJ for a sec."

Ruffy raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Why?"

"It's complicated."

Ruffy looked over at DJ, who was still ignoring everything around him without a care in the world, then back to Petunia, with her pleading eyes. He sighed. "Alright, fine. Not for too long. I gotta get him somewhere quick. And don't let him outta your sight. I need a drink…" With that note, Ruffy brushed past Petunia and disappeared back into the hospital. Petunia glanced at Flippy & Flaky, still in their tight embrace, and approached DJ.

"DJ." Petunia said, and upon hearing his name DJ raised his head from the grass and glanced at Petunia.

"Morning, Pet. To what do I owe this visit?" He said, getting to his feet. Petunia silently noticed that the stitches on his side were frayed and blood was slowly dribbling out, but said nothing about it.

"I need to talk to you." She instead said, and DJ raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"Me?"

"Yeah. Can we talk? Please?"

DJ considered this, then shrugged. "Alright, but only because you said 'please.'"

Petunia stole another glance at Flippy & Flaky, who were now sitting down across from each other, chatting away. She led DJ around the corner, away from prying eyes, and began to unbutton her jacket.

"Usually you're supposed to buy someone dinner first." DJ dryly said.

"Wha… Oh, no. No, not that. Here." Petunia found the needle and pulled it out, showing it to DJ. "Sikks got stabbed with this."

DJ wordless took the needle, holding it up to the sunlight & studying the blue liquid inside. "What's in it?" He asked.

"I was hoping you could tell me."

"Has Sikks complained of any unusual symptoms?"

"His leg was numb, from where the needle landed I assume, and he complained of a headache…" Petunia trailed off, and DJ tucked the needle into his pocket.

"Wonder if this hospital has a toxicology lab." He said aloud, and strolled into the hospital, Petunia quickly scurrying after him.

Neither of them noticed a scowling Giggles, watching from above.

* * *

"_Sleep well, Spades?" I asked politely. Admittedly, Spades looked fine, but I had to be sure that he wouldn't crack under the pressure. I've seen it happen many times before, young apprentices not being able to cope. Either they killed themselves, or I killed them._

"_Don't even pretend to care, okay?" Spades replied, and I smiled mockingly at the hatred in his voice._

"_Why not? Had a bad dream?"_

"_Yes… I mean, no… Godamnit, what do you want from me?"_

"_Like I said, another job for you. And-"_

"_No, I'm done." Spades interrupted. "I've over killing these innocent people for you, you hear me? I'm done. Finished. I quit."_

"_You can't quit, Spades." I said._

"_Why the hell not?"_

"_Because, you won't leave this room alive… And not only that, word'll get out that it was you behind all the killings. Imagine how your sister would react, hearing all these 'lies' about you butchering innocent people. For the rest of her life, people would think of her as the 'Psycho-Killer's sister.' That tag would be stuck to her for the rest of her life, Spades. No-one would hire her, she wouldn't be able to get a job, and she'd be miserable. Until I kill her, of course. And she'd blame you for everything. Do you really want your legacy lumped upon your innocent sister?"_

"… _No."_

"_Exactly. So take this map, go where I need you to, do as I ask, and Spades? Don't do anything I wouldn't do."_

"… _Godamnit." Spades sighed, and accepted the map I tossed to him. Sending a final glare in my direction, he made for the door when I stopped him one last time._

"_Don't take too long, Spades. There's much more things to do."_

"_Don't touch me." He snapped, brushing my hand away and storming out the door._

'_Oh, yes.' I silently thought to myself. 'He has potential.'_

_I waited several minutes, until I was sure he was gone. Then, whistling cheerfully, I exited the room and crossed the hall, to another room. The only occupant in this room was still asleep, no big surprise, but he was beginning to stir._

_I grabbed a chair and sat down on it, waiting for him to reawake._

_Only a minute later, his eyes fluttered open._

"_Hi, Fluffee." I said. "Welcome back to the land of the living."_

* * *

It took slightly longer than Shifty expected, but finally he turned the corner and found the landslide, where his brother was waiting, trapped, hoping for help. "We're here, c'mon!" He called out behind him, and rushed to the blocked entrance of the tunnel. "Lifty, I'm back, I've got some help. We'll get you out of there in no time, okay bro?"

Silence answered him.

Shifty began hauling rocks out of the way. "What are you two waiting for?" He cried up at Sparky & Toothy. "Help me!" Toothy & Sparky exchanged a hesitant glance, and simultaneously shrugged. Wordlessly, they approached Shifty on either side and helped remove the rocks.

It became clear to Sparky after a few minutes that Shifty was more tired than he was letting on.

For every two rocks Sparky hauled away, Shifty could do only one. He was sweating profusely, refusing to give up, clinging to one shred of hope that maybe, maybe, his brother would be okay. "We'll get you outta this, Lifty." He gasped, barely audible. "I promised ma I'd look after you. Hang in there, bro, we're getting there… Please answer me, Lifty…"

"I'm sure he's fine." Sparky said, beginning to breath heavily too.

"Then why isn't he answering?"

"Maybe he-"

"He's scared of the dark, Sparky. Shit-scared. He's alone in there, scared and alone… And he needs me as much as I need him."

Sparky saw at that moment, that as much as Lifty was afraid of the dark, Shifty was more afraid of losing his brother.

"Shifty, you look like you're about to pass out. Go have a drink or something." She ordered, and Shifty waved her concerns off.

"Naw, I'm fine, just gotta get Lifty-"

"WE'LL get Lifty. You take a short rest." She cut him off, and after a short moment, Shifty sighed and retreated to the shade of a nearby palm tree. Sparky & Toothy worked in silence, as quick as they could, until finally, Toothy called her.

"Sparky. I found something."

Sparky scurried over to Toothy, and immediately saw an arm. A green arm, the rest of the body hidden underneath rubble. An arm that probably belonged to Lifty. "Found him." She called to Shifty, who was there in a flash.

"Lifty, I knew you were okay." He said.

"Toothy, on the count of three, pull." Sparky instructed, grabbing part of Lifty's arm.

"Ready when you are." Toothy replied, grabbing the arm too.

"One… Two… Three!" The two pulled as hard as they could, Lifty's body sliding out from underneath the rubble into the afternoon sunlight.

Or, rather, what was left of it.

The entire lower half of Lifty's body, from the waist down, was gone. Hacked, sliced off cleanly. Blood poured from the gaping hole, blood that made a nasty trail when Toothy & Sparky pulled it from the rubble. The meaty insides trailed out too, a thin strand of intestine plopping from the huge wound. Sparky screamed, dropping the arm and backing away, as did Toothy. Lifty's face was forever frozen in an expression of pure pain and terror, one that Shifty matched almost instantly when he saw what had been done to his brother.

"Lifty!" Shifty cried, cradling his brother's head in his arms. "Oh no, no no no… Lifty…" He wept, tears falling freely. "I'm so sorry…"

* * *

It had taken shorter than expected.

Pop had arrived at the circled location on the map within only half an hour, the fuel of finding his son burning through him like gas in an automobile. He burst through the mesh-link fence, hoping against odds that Cub would be there, along with Fritz, so he could kick his German Nazi ass.

The foul stench of death reached him.

Covering his nose with one hand, Pop turned a corner to the docks.

Fritz was lying unconscious, a pool of blood slowing spreading from a wound on his forehead, his hand clasped on a nailgun. And in front of Fritz… Oh, god no…

"Cub." Pop whispered, the shock of seeing his son pretty much crucified freezing him in the spot. "Cub…" Pop saw the nails driven into his son's body, saw the nailgun in Fritz's hand, and put two and two together.

Fritz stirred, awakening, one hand immediately clutching the wound on his forehead.

Pop viciously kicked him in the face, sending him to the floor. Several dirty, plaque-ridden teeth popped out, along with bits of blood, landing next to the dropped nailgun. On instinct, Pop grabbed the nailgun, aimed it a Fritz, and fired.

The nail pierced the palm of the beaver's hand, then the floor beneath him. Fritz yelped, thrashing, trying to drive the nail free to no avail. Pop aimed again, firing another nail into the palm of Fritz's other hand. Fritz's face was now a grim mask of pain.

"Pop… I didn't do it, I swear! I was trying to save him! I-" Fritz was cut off when Pop fired two more times, at each of Fritz's feet. Talk about crucifixion, right? "Pop, calm down! It's not what you think!" Pop aimed a fifth time, and shot a last nail into Fritz's crotch.

Fritz yelled in pain, unable to do anything to free himself. "Pop… Pop… We can talk about this…" He whimpered, tears in his eyes.

The silence was the scariest part.

"Pop?" Fritz raised his head the best he could: Pop was gone.

Fritz resumed his attention to the blood nails, trying to wrench himself free once more, each thrash sending a wave an agony through his body. Suddenly, a foul-smelling liquid was poured onto him, Pop having reappeared with a can of gasoline.

"Pop, stop and think of what you're doing!" Fritz reasoned as the gas splashed across his knees and legs. Pop made no effort to response as he continued to empty the liquid across Fritz's body, before tossing the can away.

"Pop, don't go down this way…" Fritz begged as Pop fumbled around his coat for something, finally producing a box of matches normally used for to light his smoking pipe. "No… No, no no, Pop, please…" Striking a match against the side of the box, Pop still didn't reply as the flames struck up the match.

"Pop, no!" Fritz pleaded as Pop lowered the burning match above his body. "NO! FOR GOD'S SAKE, POP, NO!"

With a demented smile, Pop dropped the flaming match onto Fritz's body. Fritz screamed as the flames instantly consumed him, his flesh burning away, his blood boiling, his body in screaming agony. Soon, the screaming resided, and Fritz's charred corpse went limp as his heart gave out under the intense heat. Soon, he was nothing more than a pile of ash nailed to the ground.

* * *

Didn't see that coming, did ya? Looking like Pop has taken a trip down insanity lane. Well, to be fair, he did just see the dead body of his son nailed to a wall.

Reviews are welcomed with a bag of chocolates. Happy mother's day!

~ DJ.


	21. Insanity Plea

I wanna give a shout out to DeepDarkDebt09, who has recently returned to FanFiction after a lengthy hiatus, and is in the process of writing Paradise Getaway, which is kinda like a reality show with a killing twist. He explains it better than I do, but rest assured, he is one of the better writers I've seen on FanFiction. The thing is, he needs a few OCs to kick-start Paradise Getaway, so I'm appealing to you guys reading this to help him out. You know the drill, click on his story and toss some OCs in the mix. You know you want to.

That being said, let us continue our journey deeper into the story of Bloody Vengence with chapter 21: Insanity Plea.

* * *

Shifty was a sobbing mess.

Seeing the only person he probably ever cared about ripped in half had truly shattered his mental stability. Lifty's corpse, or rather what was left of it, had quickly been buried by Toothy as Sparky tried to console the remaining raccoon twin. After a few minutes, Shifty's sobbing had ceased to quiet heaving, and Toothy motioned to Sparky that they should probably get going.

Sparky patted Shifty lightly on the shoulder. "Shifty? We should be getting back to the hospital. People will be wondering where we are."

Shifty remained silent, his face hidden underneath his wide-brimmed fedora.

"Are you alright to walk?" Sparky asked.

Slowly, ever-so-noticeably, Shifty nodded.

"Alright, c'mon." Sparky offered Shifty a hand, helping him up. Looking like he was on the verge of tears, Shifty got to his feet, and wiped his face with the fedora.

"Shifty?" Toothy joined the two. "I'm sorry about your brother." He said as the trio began the long walk back to the hospital.

Shifty breathed, willing himself not to burst into tears. "He was all I had." He croaked, his throat as dry as the Sahara Desert.

"I know what you're going through, Shifty." Sparky said, remembering Sniffles. "He's taken loved ones from all of us."

"I want to kill him, Sparky. I want to fucking kill him." Shifty hissed, the sorrow giving way momentarily to anger.

"There's a long line ahead of you, Shifty."

* * *

"Bingo." DJ whispered, finding the door to the Toxicology lab. "Let's just hope the damned thing works now." He pushed the door open and strode in purposely, the opportunity to help out (and therefore prove he's not that much of an asshole) glinting before him. Petunia followed behind him, casting a wary eye behind herself, not so sure of this grand idea as she was minutes ago. The search for the Toxicology lab had taken them deeper into the hospital, into hallways where she was doubtful anyone had entered for years. If DJ suddenly attacked, her scream would go unheard in these massive hallways…

DJ smiled a small smile of relief as the main screen of the computer booted up. Grabbing the needle out of his pocket, he squirted a small amount of the liquid into a small plastic cup nearby, dripping it into the machine when prompted to.

VERIFYING RESULTS: … 5% … 10%...

Awaiting results, DJ sat himself down on a nearby table and looked at Petunia. "So, how's Fluffee?"

"Hmmm?" Petunia snapped out of her thoughts, her mind having wandered away.

"I asked how Fluffee was." DJ repeated.

"What do you care?" Petunia asked, and DJ paused in hesitation.

"I care because Fluffee is the closest thing I've got to a friend right now." He confessed. "He's pretty much the only person who believes that I'm not responsible for these slayings. Hell, even you think I've got something to do with them."

"The thought has crossed my mind once or twice…"

"Look, Petunia. I understand where you're coming from, really. If this were a murder novel, I'd be a prime candidate for the killer. Number one suspect. But, and you're just going to have to trust me on this, I am not a bad person."

"How can I trust you?"

"You're still alive, aren't you?" DJ snapped, his irritation rising.

"Could be a ploy to lower my guard and falsely gain my trust." Petunia shot back, before she could stop herself.

There was a short silence, then DJ grinned. "I see you've read your fair share of crime novels."

A small ding sounded, catching both their attention. The computer had finished analyzing what the liquid was. DJ glanced at the jumble of numbers and words on the monitor, the dark glow of the screen illuminating his face as his grin fading.

"What is it?" Petunia asked, the maze of information complete gibberish to her.

"Not good…" DJ cryptically noted.

* * *

Roughly around the same time, Ruffy was perched at the side of his boss, Rager's bed. Still K.O'd from the blow to the head, Rager's chest inflated and deflated with each passing breath, the only reminder that this person on the bed was still alive. "Rager?" Ruffy whispered, not looking forward to waking his boss up. "Wakey wakey…"

No response. Ruffy leaned forward, closer to Rager's face, and gently poked him in the face.

Rager's eyes shot open.

Before Ruffy could comprehend this, Rager leapt out of the bed, tackling Ruffy to the floor with a loud clatter, hands going for his neck. Ruffy kicked and struggled as Rager's hands tightened around his throat, his lungs beginning to burn for oxygen.

"Rager," Ruffy whispered. "Rager, it's me, Ruffy, let go!"

The squeezing on his airways halted, then slowly reversed. Rager let go of his partner's throat, the surprise of being awoken so suddenly having taken over for just a moment. Rager rubbed a hand at his temple, suddenly aware that he had the WORST headache. Ever. Ruffy gasped for air, the beginnings of bruises on his throat.

"Fuck… Do NOT do that again!" He wheezed.

"Sorry, reflex." Rager weakly said, shrugging.

"Your first reflex when someone wakes you up is to try and throttle the life out of them?"

"You surprised me." Rager offered a hand, helping his young partner back to his feet. "What happened? I remember talking to, uh… Spades, and then… Nothing."

Ruffy coughed. "Uh, yeah, see… Thing is… Let's not dwell on it." Perhaps wisely, Ruffy chose not to say what happened. It'd probably convince Rager that stopping the strangulation was a bad idea. "The important thing is, you're awake, and I've got DJ in custody."

"Hmmm…" Rager, murmured. Then, it clicked. "Wait, what?"

"Flippy found him at the docks. Said he blew up the boat."

"The boat… Where is he now?"

"Petunia wanted to talk to him…"

"And you just let him go along with her unsupervised?"

"I thought you'd want to know…" Ruffy shrugged. "I doubt he'd try to escape again. He showed no resistance when Flippy brought him in, so…"

But Rager had already ran past Ruffy, out the door into the hallway.

* * *

Flippy wasn't that much of a coffee drinker a few weeks ago, but wasn't complaining as the warm brew of freshly-made coffee soothed his throat. Sure, the coffee tasted about as good as cough medicine, but it helped nonetheless.

Sitting at a dining table in the hospital's café, he was silently marveling at how the coffee maker still worked when Flaky placed a plate of pancakes in front of him.

"There's heaps of supplies in the store room." She explained, handing Flippy a fork. "I couldn't find a use-by date, but it smelt fresh, so it should still be edible."

"What, no waffles?" Flippy grinned, stabbing the first pancake with the fork. Flaky smiled back, a shaky smile, but a smile nonetheless.

"Flippy, we need to talk." She said, taking a seat across the table.

Flippy glanced around the café, suddenly feeling like he was being watched, then sighed. "Okay. What do you want to talk about?"

"Flippy… Are you alright?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you've been more… Unstable recently. And with, you know, Evil, I was wondering…" She trailed off, her silence finishing her sentence adequately.

Flippy was quiet, waiting for the voice of his darker side to pop in with his usual sadistic opinions.

But nothing came.

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "I'm afraid that I'm losing control over him." Flippy admitted. "Just last week, I could even go to a fireworks event knowing that I'd be able to stop Evil from reaching the surface. But now… Now I'm not sure. He doesn't seem to be talking to me, which is sending warning signs all over the place… But my grip on him, his voice, his whereabouts… It's losing, Flaky. I don't think I can hold him off for another week. He's going to fight his way to the surface soon, real soon, and I don't think I'll be able to stop him doing whatever he wants when he does."

Flaky quietly pondered this for a minute, then nodded. "We'll get you through this. If we leave… WHEN we leave, you'll get help. Professional help. Therapists, pills, whatever it takes to stop Evil from trying to take over your life."

"I can't do it alone." Flippy replied, shaking his head.

"Then I'll come with you." Flaky said after a pause. The two smiled, and their hands met in the middle of the table.

* * *

_I whistled a cheerful turn as I lugged Fluffee along, the Siberian Husky tied with the old standby, duct tape, as he was slung over my shoulder. Sure, the second he realized who I was, he struggled. But he wasn't a match for me. I'm strong, smart. Fluffee has just recovered from a triple-K.O, so naturally he's uncoordinated. I've done this many times before. I doubt Fluffee's been in this situation before._

_See? The odds are in my favor._

"_If you'd stop kicking so much, we'd be there quicker." I snapped, as Fluffee's incessant struggling caused him to kick me ineffectively in the chest. Little bastard. He mumbled something in response, which was barely understandable thanks to the duct tape, although I do believe I heard a thinly veiled threat to put him down, lest he would kick my ass._

_The thought made me grin. He's not going to kick anyone's ass in anytime soon. Duct tape does that._

_Another kick wiped the grin from my face. Now it's just annoying. I threw Fluffee to the floor, not caring about the echo his body made as it connected with the hard tile floor. It's the 5__th__ floor of the damned hospital. No-one's been up here for years bar me. I ripped the duct tape from his mouth, taking several delicate bits of fur out too, and instantly the Siberian Husky shouted._

"_Let me go, you ASSHOLE!" Fluffee yelled, struggling against his bonds. "What do you want from me, you piece of shit? Hey, help! Anyone, hel-"_

_He was cut off when I kicked him firmly in the ribs, then just to get my point across, I placed a foot on his throat and added pressure. His shout died out to a whisper, the sudden lack of air being the number one priority right now as I slowly crushed his neck._

"_Alright, now you listen here." I snarled, leaning down so we could be face to face. "I could snap your neck in an instant if I wanted to, and absolutely no-one would notice. And the only reason I haven't done that, Fluffee, is because I have a bigger plan in mind. A bigger plan in which you are an integral part of. THAT is why your head is still attached to your shoulders, why your eyes aren't ripped out, why your heart is still beating. So, unless you want to be in such agony that you'll be screaming for a death that won't come, you're going to quieten down and stop kicking so damned much. Got it?"_

_Slowly, silently, Fluffee nodded. I released my hold on his throat, and smiled darkly._

"_I'm proud that we've reached a same level of understanding." I said, slapping him lightly in the face. Fluffee, gasping for air, offered no resistance as I picked him up and slung him over my shoulder like a wounded soldier. I took a few steps forward, and paused._

_The hair on the back of my neck prickling up in suspicion, I felt someone's eyes drilling into the back of my skull. Watching me._

_I spun around, Fluffee making a small sound of protest, and scanned the hallways._

_No-one was there. My paranoia got the best of me, perhaps? For a long time, I've been wary of everyone, eyes in the back of my head. Was I slipping? Was my mental stability getting the better of me?_

_No, of course not. That's silly. There's no-one on the 5__th__ floor except me and Fluffee._

_Speaking of which…_

"_Let's stop wasting time." I said, turning around and continuing my course. Fluffee made no audible response, but for the remainder of our journey I kept my eyes and ears open._

_And maybe, once or twice, I caught a shadow out the corner of my eye._

* * *

"_It kills me not to know this  
but I've all but just forgotten  
What the color of her eyes were  
And her scars or how she got them._

_As the telling signs of age ring down  
A single tear is dropping  
Through the valleys of an aging face  
That this world has forgotten…"_

Cue brilliant guitar riff. Sikks mimed playing an imaginary guitar to the tune of Rise Against's _'Savior'_, the Ipod next to him belting out the tunes like there's no tomorrow. Beside him, Niki bobbed her head along with the beat, a content smile on each of their faces.

Petunia watched this from the doorway, standing awkwardly with the test results in her hand until Sikks noticed her mid-chorus and waved her inside, tapping the 'pause' button on the Ipod. "Where'd you go?" He asked.

"Well…" Petunia paused, mentally weighing her options, before moving on. "I decided to go down to the toxicology lab and find out what was in that needle."

Sikks raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What were the results?"

Petunia paused again, glancing at the words printed on the paper.

"Well? C'mon, I'm a big boy, I can take it." Sikks said.

"You were injected with several milligrams of a highly concentrated mixture of muscle-numbing tranquilizer-like drugs." Petunia explained, reading off the paper. "I don't know how to pronounce most of them, too many letters, but the bottom line is that they're slowly, part by part, bit by bit, shutting your body down. Apparently, it starts off with the area of injection, in your case your leg, causing it to go numb and lose all feeling in it… then it spreads. It kills the muscles in your body one by one, until your heart is unable to keep functioning… And you die." She lowered the paper, tears in her eyes. "Sikks, I'm so sorry."

Sikks sat silently, dumbfounded. He subconsciously rubbed the spot where the needle hit him, wondering how something so small could be so devastating. He put his face in his hands, breathing deeply, trying to maintain his composure.

"So…" He stuttered. "So… Am I going to die?"

"I'm so sorry, Sikks." Petunia repeated, bursting into tears.

DJ watched this from the hallway with curious eyes. He was wondering how Sikks would react, being told he was going to die. So far, it seemed that the shock of this new information had overwhelmed Sikks. Petunia, on the other hand, was already crying. Then again, she always was a tad over-emotional.

"DJ?"

DJ glanced behind him, and sighed at the sight of Rager and Ruffy standing behind him. Rager was twirling a new pair of handcuffs, grinning in satisfaction. Wordlessly, DJ held his hands out, letting Rager snap the handcuffs on him with no resistance.

"Desmond Jazed, you are under arrest under suspicion of mass murder." Ruffy told him, speaking from memory. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and, um… It can and…" Ruffy fell silent, having forgotten what comes next, and shrugged helplessly.

"Anything I say can and will be used against me in court." DJ finished for him. "Blah blah blah, something about lawyers, let's just go." He breathed, and glanced at Rager. "You look happy."

"I feel happy." Rager replied.

"Congratulations." DJ deadpanned. "Lead the way."

With a curt nod, Ruffy and Rager began walking down the hallway, DJ between them. Their footsteps echoing, DJ glanced around, hoping to find someone, anyone to talk to, reassure him it'd be okay.

No-one greeted him.

With a sigh of resignation, DJ allowed himself to be led down the stairwell.

* * *

The gate to the southern docks swung idly in the wind, it's metallic creaks sending shivers up Spade's spine. If this wasn't the worst week of Spade's life, he didn't know what was. The nerve of that asshole… Threatening to lump Laces with his legacy… Precious, innocent Laces, who wouldn't even hurt a fly. It would devastate her. Ruin her life. Spades could not… WOULD not, let that happen. But does that mean he should continue this merciless killings?

No. Spades decided here and then, that after he checked these docks for… whatever he was looking for, he was done. He'd commandeer a motorboat, go get help. Save everyone. Become a hero. No-one would have to know what he's done.

But that left the question of Laces. Spades thought of his young sister and he felt her pink wristband, hidden inside his pocket. The chances of Laces being on the island with them should be extremely low… Yet, the fact that he had the wristband with him suggested otherwise. Perhaps she was hidden somewhere on the island? If so, where? Surely if someone else had seen her, they're tell Spades. He was her brother after all.

Or maybe the killer had paid Laces a visit before the boat set off on the journey…

No. No. Spades would not dare to think that.

Spades crept forward, through the gate, and scanned his surroundings. The hot afternoon sun shined on the wet docks, glinting from the surface of the sea. It was then that Spades caught the scent of… something.

"Hello?" He shouted, the smell stinging his nose. "Anyone here?"

The clatter of something falling over answered him.

"Who's there?" Spades stepped cautiously in the direction of the sound, near a small shack at the side of the docks. He rounded the corner of the shack, and gagged.

The smell was the scent of death. Painful, burning death. Emitting from a blackened smudge on the ground, which Spades suspected was once a person, now nothing. Holding a hand over his nose, he backed off, the urge to turn around and run rising.

But something caught his eye at the other end of the shack.

It seemed like the bloodstain on the side of the shack, several small holes protruding from the wall where something had embedded itself in it. Several nails, possibly the source of the holes, lay on the ground, having been ripped out by something. The bloodstain led across the ground, around the corner, as if someone had dragged the body somewhere else.

His curiosity overcoming his panic, he stepped over the dark smudge, careful not to touch it at all, and approached the bloodstain on the wall. Crouching beside it, he noted that the bloodstain was exceptionally small…

His eyes fell on the blood trail on the ground. Against better judgment, he got up and followed it around the corner.

The blood trail led to what appeared to be a cot, the perfect size for a small baby.

Spades slowly stepped towards the cot, his mind telling him to stop and run away, his body not listening. Reaching the cot, he observed that it contained a pillow and a dark red gown, the gown covering a small lump.

His mind was screaming for him not to do it.

His body was still ignoring it.

Spades grabbed the gown and pulled it off.

"Oh my god…" Spades breathed, dropping the gown.

The bloodied corpse of Cub greeted him.

"Oh my god…" He repeated, backing up in terror and tripping over. Scrambling to his feet, he turned around to run-

And came face to face with Pop.

To say Pop was slightly shaken by his son's death would be a tremendous understatement. Pop's eyes were blank, the lights on and nobody home, the eyes of a man who has lost everything.

Spades noticed Pop held a sharp screwdriver in his hand a second too late.

Pop attacked, tackling Spades to the ground. The only though in his deranged mind was to protect his son. Perhaps it wasn't exactly getting through to him that he had no son to protect anymore. Regardless, Pop had lost his mind. Pop held the screwdriver, the metal shaft glinting in the sunlight, and thrust it down towards Spade's face.

Spade's hands came up and grabbed Pop's lowering hand just short of the screwdriver impacting.

Spades kicked and struggled, but Pop was keeping him pinned down by the waist, and Spades was losing the battle as Pop forced the screwdriver closer and closer to Spade's right eye.

Spades pushed the screwdriver away by a bit, Pop not relenting, and looked around for something, anything that could help.

His eyes feel upon a bloodstained hammer, next to Cub's cot.

He reached out an arm to try and grab it, but it was just out of his reach. And it was getting increasingly harder to hold Pop off with his remaining hand. Still, Spades stretched for the hammer, knowing that Pop was not going to stop until one of them was dead.

Turning his gaze back to Pop, Spades was terrified to see how closer the screwdriver was to his eye. Blindly groping for the hammer, Spades struggled harder, his holding arm dropping just a bit…

The screwdriver scratched the tip his eye. Searing, burning pain rung through Spade's body as the blood rushed to his right eyeball, his thrashing becoming increasingly more drastic. Finally, his fingers brushed against the handle of the hammer, and in a mad panic, Spades gripped it and swung the hammer as hard as he could at the side of Pop's head.

Pop instantly toppled off of Spades, the hard blow of the hammer probably giving him an instant concussion. He grabbed the side of the cot for support, and the cot simply broke apart, Cub's body tumbling out onto the dirt.

"Cub?" He whispered, blood trickling down from his ear from where the hammer struck.

Spades swung the hammer again, connecting with the back of Pop's head. Pop collapsed to the dirt, the life leaving him, as Spades struck with the hammer again and again in a blind panic. In his last moments, Pop reached out amid Spade's desperate hammer blows, and gripped his son's hand before it all went black.

* * *

Pop died holding his son's hand. I don't know about you guys, but that's kinda poetic. Father and son lived together and died together, the father embracing his son one last time before death welcomed them…

Great, now I've got a tear in my eye…

Not long til the end, guys. Got any predictions? Who's the killer? Who's gonna die next? Any and all predictions are welcomed. Reviews are good for my self-esteem, constructive criticism will be taken under advisement (you can never be too good a writer), and flamers will be pointed and laughed at. And don't forget to check out DeepDarkDebt09's works and help him out with the OC problem.

Cheers.


	22. Game Over

Before the story continues, I would like to answer Xenophobic's review, as he does raise some good points that can easily be overlooked. Just for you, bro.

Xenophobic's review: "These guys really need to get smart, and stick together. they need to find a places that will always have light, until they can make it to the docks, where they can find boats to leave in. then inform the authorities off the island that he is there, and might have left by now, and they need to search the island, and the places off the island as well. buuuuuut, they're not the sharpest tools in the shed are they? xD"

Let's start from the beginning. Due to the unknowingness of who the killer(s) may be, you literally cannot be safe with anyone. Every if you stick together in a group of, say, eight of so, the killer can strike at any time, expose any weakness, and take any advantage he can. Example: Chapter 4, whereas the killer sliced Mole's throat in a room full of witnesses, all too preoccupied with the lights having gone out to notice, except for Mole, being blind and all. Really, it'd be safer by yourself. You can trust yourself, but can you trust others, knowing that one of them is a killer?

Need to find places with light? There's no vampires here, mate. =3 I kid, I kid. I know what you mean. But, as stated somewhat above, the killer clearly doesn't mind where he does the kill.

There are three docks on Broadshore Island: The main docks, where until recently the Mary Celestay (see: official cruise ship name) floated next to it until it exploded, presumably taking the majority of the dock with it. The Western docks, closest to the hospital, where Sparky & Niki found Toothy & Nutty, had been crossed out on several maps with the words 'HAZARD, DANGER', and other delightful stuff on it, so that's definitely not a good sign. And finally the Southern docks, where Spades is now, has been long-forgotten, yet still marked on maps. Whether it still has anything useful here will remain to be seen.

The best way to inform the authorities would be by the shortwave radio used by the police force. However, as Ruffy alluded to several chapters ago, the satellite dish/antenna desperately used for communicating off-island may have been sabotaged. And as DJ noted, in the same chapter probably, that this was a smart thing to do: Isolate them from the outside world. Mobile phones are useless now. Telephones are useless now. Whether smoke signals are still useful is yet to be seen.

Searching the island IS a possibility, but so far it's been met with disastrous consequences. Virtually 80% of those who decided to 'explore', whether alone or with a group, have died. I don't like those odds myself, do you?

I hope that answered any questions or plot holes you had in mind.

Now, four hundred and eighty words later, let's get on with the story. Chapter 22 of Bloody Vengeance, GAME OVER

* * *

**Hospital, first floor lobby. 4:12pm.**

A relieved smile was etched across the face of Rager. Finally, after days, months, years, even decades of the elusive Broadshore Butcher's reign, could it finally be coming to an end? The very case that made Rager want to join the police force could be closing at his own hands? The case that killed his father just as much as the Butcher killed his victims? Admittedly, the killer probably never touched Rager's dad, but his nightmarish work DID have a hand in causing his father's heart attack, Rager was sure of that.

Ruffy, on the other hand, wasn't smiling as much as Rager was. Something was nagging at him, a forgotten point or a hidden clue... But what? They had _**A**_ killer in custody, DJ's criminal record heavily implying such things, but was this really the end of a decade-long search, or simply a case of misunderstanding & desperation to solve?

And DJ… Well, if you actually though he'd be happy about this turn of events, you'd be asked to check that you weren't smoking anything illegal. No smile could be found on DJ's face, his eyes showing a resigned understanding of submission. He made no effort to struggle against the officer's leading him out the front door of the hospital, instead simply choosing to let himself be led away, silent.

"Hear that, Ruffy?" Rager spoke. "That's the sound of victory."

"The sound of victory sounds pretty boring." DJ said. Ruffy hid a grin, but Rager was too proud to even notice DJ speak. Rager stopped at his police cruiser, and fished around in his pocket for the keys.

"Say, er, boss? Quick question." Ruffy held up a hand, and Rager glanced at him before waving him to continue. "Why didn't we use the cruiser to look for DJ earlier?"

Rager opened and closed his mouth, temporarily at loss for words. "Well… Um… You see…"

Ruffy slowly lowered his hand, while DJ smirked and hid a laugh. Clearly lost, Rager stuttered and fumbled, before finally throwing his hands up in the air. "Fuck you, that's why! Now get in!"

"Hey, what's going on?"

Collectively, Rager, Ruffy, & DJ turned as one to the new voice. Sparky looked at the scene in front of her, the two officers and DJ, somewhat confused.

"Hi, Sparky." DJ waved, showing her his new handcuffs. "How long do you think it'll take for me to break out of these?"

Sparky shrugged.

"We're taking him down to the precinct." Rager explained. "We'll have him in a cell until evidence says he's not the Broadshore Butcher."

"That would explain the handcuffs." Toothy noted. Shifty glanced at DJ, raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

"Nice knowing you guys." DJ nodded, before turning his attention to the police cruiser. "I call the driver's seat." DJ said, but Rager glared at him, and climbed into the driver's seat himself. "Hey, I called that."

"Don't make it worse for yourself, man." Ruffy advised as he opened the back seat passenger door and gently pushed DJ in. "Just sayin'."

DJ muttered something unintelligiable in response, and Ruffy closed the door on him. Before he got into the front passenger seat, a thought occurred to him. "One sec, Rager."

"Make it fast."

Ruffy nodded, and quickly dashed to the watching trio, Sparky, Toothy and Shifty. "Look, Rager's made his mind up, but I'm not entirely sure… " Ruffy rummaged around his belt, and produced his 9mm police handgun. He handed it to Toothy, who tilted it and inspected it.

"What's this for?" Shifty asked.

"Just in case we're wrong." Ruffy replied.

HONK, HONK. "C'mon, Ruffy." Rager shouted from the driver's seat. "Move it or lose it!"

"Alright! Alright!" Ruffy yelled back, and turned back to the others. "Be careful. One of us'll be back as soon as possible." Then, he turned his back and dashed to the police car, diving into the front passenger seat as Rager ignited the engine.

Sparky and Shifty looked at each other and shrugged as the police cruiser drove away, and headed into the hospital. Toothy followed a second behind, still looking at the gun.

* * *

_I tied the knots around Fluffee's arms tight, just like they taught in boy scouts. It was silent up here on the 5__th__ floor, the only sound was Fluffee's harrowed breaths. I finished off the knot, and sat back, proud of my handiwork._

"_Why are you doing this?" Fluffee asked, and I could see the beginning of tears in his eyes._

"_I'm curious." I said, and left it at that._

"_Curious? Curious of what?" Fluffee replied._

"_Don't you worry, Fluffee." I leaned forward, and kissed him once on the cheek. Fluffee winched in disgust, and I grinned. "It'll be over very soon for you." I glanced at my watch. 4:14. "Game on."_

* * *

**Hospital reception lounge, 4:15pm.**

Flippy drank some more of the coffee, and breathed. Sure, it tasted like dried rat droppings, but it was a welcomed relief. Beside him, Flaky sat on the reception's coffee room couch, her head resting on his shoulders. Flippy smiled. And she said HE looked tired?

Suddenly, the lights flickered. Flaky looked up, sat upright, and blinked. "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Flippy said, getting up. "Maybe the power's about to-"

The hospital announcement speaker suddenly blared to life, screeching static. Flippy put his hands to his ears, blocking out the horrendous screech, but as quickly as it started, it stopped. All around the hospital, from Sikks, Petunia, Niki and Giggles on the 3rd floor, to Toothy, Sparky and Shifty in the lobby, everyone in the hospital stopped what they were doing and stared at the loudspeaker.

"What the hell was that?" Niki asked.

"I don't-" Petunia began, but suddenly…

"_Hello, survivors."_ A voice spoke on the loudspeaker, a voice as deep as it was demonic. _"I want to play a game."_

"What in…" Sparky whispered, trailing off to nothing.

"_You have all survived thus far, through either coincidence or fate. For that, I commend you. However, while you celebrate your luck in living, others have not been so lucky. They have died because others wouldn't help them, whether they knew it or not. In a way, some of you have killed them just as much as I have."_

"The fuck is going on?" Flippy shouted.

"_In all this excitement, it's easy for forget about one another and look out just for yourself. In all this drama, one of your numbers have been forgotten. His life is now in my hands, up here on the fifth floor, but it can just as easily be transferred to yours. If you choose to risk your life for his, of course."_

"Screw this, I'm out of here!" Shifty said, and pushed on the front door. It didn't budge. "The fuck?"

"_All exits have been locked for my convenience. In thirty minutes, at 4:45, they will re-open, and if no-one has answered the call to save your forgotten member, he will be killed. However, if someone chooses to risk their life for his, I will let him go. Whether you survive the switch will be up to you. His life is in your hands. Will you follow your brain, and preserve your own lives? Or will you follow your heart, and try to save your lost member? Live or die, survivors. The choice is yours." – Click._

And the loudspeaker switched off into silence.

* * *

**Southern Docks, 4:23pm**

Spades stifled a shout as his eye burned. Sitting against the wall of the shack, he held a hand against the hurt eye, feeling warm blood leak from the cut, and tried to calm down. He was alive, he should be thankful for that. Spades glanced at Pop & Cubs bodies, feeling a wave of sorrow and regret coarse through him.

"That's it." He spoke. "No more."

He pushed himself to his feet, unsteady, and stumbled to the pier of the docks. Surely there must be at least one boat here…

Spades staggered down the pier, his visibility halved, searching for a vessel. Hell, at this point he'd gladly accept an old rowboat with only one oar. "C'mon." He muttered. "Anything."

At the very end of the pier, his prayers were answered.

It was an old fishing boat, painted a dry bleach color and probably abandoned by its original owner, who for all Spades knew lay dead somewhere on the island. On the side of the hull, the inscription 'PENNYWEATHER' could just barely be read underneath the gently lapping waves of the sea. Spades breathed a sigh of a relief, which quickly turned into a cheer of victory as he boarded the vessel. Finally, freedom! Salvation! … And a third word which would also describe this accurately.

First things first: Check his eye, see if there's any permanent damage. There should be a first-aid kit around here somewhere… Stepping into the hanger, keeping his injured eye tightly closed, Spades glanced around with his good eye, spying at least six overhanging cabinets. He opened the first one: Tupperware and cutlery.  
Second one: Plates and bowls.  
Third one: Cups and glasses.  
Fourth one: A box full of Playboy magazines.

It was in the fifth cabinet that Spades found a first aid kit. Smiling in relief, Spades quickly opened it up and sorted through it, grabbing a hand-held mirror. He held it up, positioned it so that he could into his bad eye, and slowly, painfully. opened said eye.

He winched.

The eye was completely bloodshot, the pupil buried underneath layers of blood. He was effectively half-blind. Fantastic. Spades was no eye surgeon (and even if he was, he wasn't up for slicing his own eye apart with old tools), but he knew something had to be done. He riffled through the first-aid kit again, dropping the mirror to the side, and found an eyepatch.

He held the eyepatch in disbelief, before shaking his head. "Better than nothing." He admitted, and put it on. He felt oddly like a pirate.

Now to starts this thing up and get the hell out of here.

Spades went to the engine at the back of the boat, and gripped the ignition throttle tightly. But, before he could start the engine to freedom, he saw something on the floor of the boat, next to the engine.

It was a small voice recorder, with the words 'PLAY ME' hastily scribed on it.

"Fuck you!" Spades shouted, laughing at the recorder. He's had enough games. He pulled the ignition, and the engine spluttered and failed. Spades frowned, and tried again. Splutter, fail. Splutter, fail. "Godamnit."

His eyes drifted to the voice recorder. All the engine needed was some gas. He had seen a whole bottle of gas in the shack, near Pop & Cub. He'd just go get it, and be gone within ten minutes. But the voice recorder… It sparked his curiosity.

Oh, what the hell. Might as well listen to what the bastard has to say before throwing it back in his face.

Spades grabbed the voice recorder, sat down against the hull of the boat, and pressed play. A few seconds of silence followed, before that familiar voice began.

"_Hello, Spades. Congratulations. You've survived all my tasks I've set out for you thus far, tasks which would cripple a regular person. You're free to go, free to sail away from this nightmare. However. There is, as always, a catch. You are at the final crossroad in your journey, Spades. The choice of fleeing and getting help, or staying behind and continuing to work for me. Chances are you've already chosen to sail away, and I don't blame you. But you should know, that by sailing away you will be effectively signing the death warrant of everyone on this island… well, those who are still alive, anyway. I'm a fast worker, in case you haven't noticed. Fast, effective, and creative. But I know you are still heavily considering sailing away, as any smart person would. So I've got one more little incentive to show you. Go into the cabin, and search behind the map in the table. Go on. Pause this and play it once you find it."_

Spades paused the player, and glanced at the cabin. True, he had already made up his mind to sail away. But he was sick and tired of this. Sick and tired of the stress, sick and tired of killing… Sick and tired of worrying about Laces. She probably wasn't even here! Laces was probably back home, half-way through the latest video game, and absently wondering what Spades was doing! The armband HE gave Spades? Most likely a fake.

Still, though.

Before Spades knew what he was doing, he had already gotten up and entered the cabin. He found the map, a map of the world, laying on the table, and lifted it up. He peeked underneath it, and seeing a small rolled-up scrap of paper, he snatched it and threw the map back down. He unrolled it, and paused.

It was a photo of the hospital, dated the day before. It wasn't the hospital that caught his attention, though. It was Laces. Laces, standing in front of the hospital, scared and alone… No, not alone. HIM. Smiling that sick smile of his, he had an arm wrapped around Laces shoulders, knowing full well how uncomfortable this made her.

Scribbled on the edge of the photo was the words, 'WISH YOU WERE HERE!', and a winking smiley face.

"You bastard." Spades whispered in horror. "You motherfucking BASTARD! WHERE IS SHE?" He shouted at the photo, but no answer came. "The tape." He rummaged around in his pocket, and quickly grabbed the player and pressed play.

"_I wasn't lying, Spades. Laces is being well-kept after. I feed her. Make sure she's comfy. Because I know how much she means to you, Spades. Not one hair on her cute little face has been harmed, I promise you. But if you leave, that promise will be broken. So here is your grand final choice, Spades. Leave, and condemn everyone to a world of pain, excluding Laces, of course. I've got better plans for her. Or you can stay, be reunited with your sister, and continue to do as I say. Your choice, Spades. Choose wisely." _

The player clicked off. Spades threw the player at the wall, where it shattered into several hundred pieces, and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

* * *

**Hospital, 3rd Floor. 4:31pm.**

The Survivors gathered on the 3rd floor following the announcement. Flippy, Flaky, Toothy, Shifty, Sparky, Niki, Giggles, Petunia, and Sikks all sat around Sikk's bed as, one by one, they spoke up on this latest issue.

"What are we gonna do?" Niki asked, a frown of worry etched across her face.

"We?" Shifty repeated. "Who said anything about we? Did you not hear him? Someone's going to die within the next half hour, regardless of what anyone does."

"Maybe. But he said that if someone does volunteer, he may have only a chance at dying." Sparky pointed out.

"Who does he have?" Petunia asked. "Who are we missing?"

There was a short pause as everyone thought. Then, Shifty's eyes widened. "It's gotta be-"

"What's going on in here?" Nutty asked, poking his head in the doorway.

There was a longer pause than before.

"Nutty? Where the hell have you been?" Flippy asked.

Nutty shrugged. "Sleeping."

"Sleeping." Flippy deadpanned, disbelieving.

"Yep. What's going on?" Nutty looked around the room, waiting for an answer.

"Well, some killer is holding someone else hostage and we're trying to figure out who before anyone goes to rescue them." Giggles explained.

Nutty stroked his chin in thought. "Fascinating. I'm going back to bed."

"What."

"Why not? I'm clearly still dreaming." Nutty replied, stepping out of the room.

"… What is wrong with him?" Giggles asked.

"It's his way of coping, I think." Flaky said, a hand on her chin. "A case of denying what's going on."

"Thank you, detective Flaky." Shifty snarked. "As I was going to say, it's gotta be Fluffee."

"Fluffee?"

"Sure. He's disappeared overnight, I can't find him where he's meant to be… Hey, it makes sense. DJ's gonna be pissed."

"That's… That's actually a good guess." Flippy admitted.

"Lovely. We're figured out that Fluffee is going to die if we do nothing. So now what?"

"Isn't it obvious? One of us volunteers to go rescue him."

"Flippy, you're staying. You've had enough for one day." Flaky quickly said, before Flippy could throw his name in the hat.

Silence followed as everyone in the room looked at each other expectantly. None wanted to risk their lives to save someone they had, admittedly, forgotten. Which is why everyone was surprised when someone let out a sigh, and raised his hand.

"I'll do it." Sikks said, pushing himself wobbly to his feet.

"What? No, no you're not." Petunia retorted, rushing to settle Sikks back down. "You're delirious, hurt, infected-"

"Which is why I'm the best person to do this." Sikks pointed out, gently pushing Petunia away. "You said it yourself, Pet. I'm going to die. Might as well take down the bastard before I do."

"Sikks-"

"My mind is made up. If I'm going to die, I'm going to die like a hero." Sikks, unsteady on his feet, gripped the side of the bed in support as he sluggishly walked to the doorway, passing the others.

"I'll come with you." Toothy said, but Sikks waved him down.

"Sorry. But if he hears too many people… He's bound to have a plan for that."

"But I've got this." Toothy said, and showed the gun Ruffy gave him to the others. "I can help."

"You know how to use it?" Sikks asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes sir."

"Come on, then. Let's stop wasting time."

The two nodded at the remaining survivors, and stepped out the doorway.

"Be careful." Petunia called after the two.

* * *

**Police HQ. 4:35pm.**

The police cruiser pulled up outside the police station, and Ruffy breathed a sigh of relief. Sure, Rager wasn't a bad driver by any means… But he was a tad reckless at times, especially around the corners.

"Hey, we're still alive." DJ deadpanned from the back. "It's a miracle."

"C'mon, let's introduce you to your new living quarters." Rager eagerly replied, opening his door and stepping out.

"Can't wait."

Ruffy exited his side, and opened the door for DJ to step out. DJ did so, staring at the police headquarters with a morbid fascination. Rager grabbed DJ by the arm, and led him into the station, with Ruffy following close behind. Rager led DJ past the mess in the majority of the rooms, and dragged him down to the cells. "Welcome to your new home."

"The ad in the paper said it'd be a bit cleaner than this. I must have a word with my agent." DJ sarcastically noted, seeing with disgust how dirt this cell was. The single bed was, almost literally, a paper-thin mattress on a bunk, and the toilet… I'll let you use your imagination on that one. Rager opened the cell, and pushed DJ in with force. "Hold your hands through the bars, and I'll unlock your cuffs." He said, and DJ held his hands through the bars as he was told.

"So far, I'd give this a one out of five stars." DJ said, rubbing his wrists after Rager unlocked the cuffs. "What's on the menu?"

"I'll talk to you later." Rager replied, burying the cuffs in his pocket. "The second I can contact someone outside, you're history. That clear?"

"Crystal."

Rager nodded, and walked away from the cells, leaving Ruffy with DJ. Ruffy glanced at DJ, leaning against the bars, and shrugged semi-apologetically.

"Make yourself at home, I guess." He said, before following Rager away.

"And how am I supposed to do that?" DJ shouted after him, but got no response. He looked around his cell in disgust, and sat down on what he assumed was his bed. He laid down on it, looking at the ceiling, and breathed out.

"Well this sucks." He concluded, to no-one in particular.

* * *

**Hospital Stairwell. 4:41pm.**

"What kinda experience you have with guns?" Sikks asked as he climbed up the stairs, his limp very noticeable.

"I used to go out shooting with my dad." Toothy replied. "Got some pretty good shots off once in a while, too."

"How good?"

"About an eighty percent accuracy rate, last time I checked."

"It'll do." Sikks noted, rounding the corner onto the fourth floor. The doors to the fourth floor had been ripped away, and instead rows upon rows of wooden boards had been nailed into place. Someone had gone to great lengths to bar the fourth floor from the rest of the world. But it wasn't the fourth floor they were looking for. It was the fifth. Sikks placed a step on the next stair-

And suddenly, every single light in the hospital went out.

The hospital was plunged into darkness, the only light being the sun which shone through any uncovered windows. In the stairwell, it was pitch black, neither Sikks nor Toothy being able to see a foot in front of them.

"Fuck, fuck, FUCK!" Toothy whispered. "I can't see shit!"

"Me neither." Sikks whispered back, but then the lights flickered back on, then back off, flickering on and off relentlessly.

"Fuck this, this is freaking me the fuck out." Toothy said. "I'm going back."

"Toothy, the gun-"

"Here, you take it." Toothy shoved the gun in Sikk's hands as the lights continued to flicker. "I can't cope with this."

"Fine. Go back. I'll go on alone." Sikks retorted, but Toothy was already making his way back down the stairs. Sikks shook his head, then resumed his attention to making his way up the stairs. A clock, hanging on the wall, told him it was 4:42. He limped up the stairs, slowly making his way to the fifth floor, his breathing becoming harrowed and sharp.

Next time, he was going to take the elevator.

Sikks rounded the stairwell, and the large metal doors to the fifth floor appeared before him, both swaying lazily open. Sikks had a short moment where he believed the stains on the door was blood, but quickly realized it was rust. Fuck, how old was this place?

He limped his way through the doorway, the lights still flickering, and stood in the main hall of the fifth floor in awe. All around him, on the floor, the walls, even the roof, words and phrases were written, all in a dark red ink that was most likely blood. One phrase at Sikk's feet said 'She was RIGHT THERE', a phrase that didn't make much sense to Sikks, but he tightened his grip on the pistol anyway, it's heavy weight reassuring him.

"Hello?" Sikks called out. "I'm here. Show yourself!" He stepped forward, looking suspiciously around the hall, reading more of the phrases than he wanted to.

'I AM GOD'  
'siXtY-sevEn aNd coUntiNG'  
'thE CuRE tO the DiSeaSe is DeaTH'  
'eiGhty-ONE anD CounTing'  
'nO-One cAn helP yoU'  
'oNe-hUndrEd And TWelVe aND countING'  
'I AM WATCHING YOU'  
'One-HundReD AnD FOUrTy-fouR AnD COuntiNg'  
'aLL ThaT you LOVE wilL BE LOST'  
'tWO-huNdred and SEvenTEEn AND COUNTING'  
'Let yOUr FEAR sEt you FREE'  
'Two-HunDreD anD niNetY-twO and counting'  
'LOST COUNT AROUND THE THREE-HUNDRED ZONE'  
'whAT iS LOST can nEVeR be SAVED'  
'i am god'

Sikks shivered. Whoever's been writing all this throughout the years was some twisted fuck, no doubt. "Where are you?" He yelled. "I've taken on people like you, and won out every time! Show your face, asshole!"

"Hello, Sikks."

Sikks whirled around at this voice, it coming front a junction to his left. He could see the silhouette of a man standing at the far end of the hallways, surrounded by more and more of the psychological ranting. The man waved. "Of all people, I wasn't expecting you to answer the call, Sikks."

"Shut up." Sikks called out, his hand tapping the gun hidden in the back pocket of his pants. "Where's Fluffee?" He asked, taking a tentative step forward.

"Why, he's right here." The man said, sidestepping to reveal Fluffee behind him, arms and mouth covered in duct tape. "I didn't know you cared that much about Fluffee."

"It's not Fluffee that brought me here." Sikks replied.

"No?"

"It's YOU." Sikks spat, the lights still flickering on and off.

"Oh, a bit of vengeance is what you're after, is it?" The Killer raised his eyebrows, and grinned.

"What the fuck are you grinning for?"

"C'mon, then. Get your vengeance." The Killer said, unsheathing a knife and twirling it in the air as he circled Fluffee. "That's what you're here for, isn't it?" He continued. "You're here because you want to kill me. You want to kill me, more than you want to save Fluffee here, am I correct?" The Killer put his face next to Fluffee's, then alternated between pointing to himself and Fluffee. "Me, not him? Not poor, innocent Fluffee?" The Killer looked at Fluffee, and licked him on the cheek as Fluffee resisted.

Sikks stood, strong and silent. The Killer laughed. "Of course I'm right. I can see it in your eyes, Sikks. You're not watching Fluffee, worried about his welfare. No, you're watching me, with hatred in your eyes." He walked around Fluffee again, until he was right behind the scared Siberian Husky. "And since you're not here for him…"

With sudden, quick, violent ferocity, The Killer had his knife against Fluffee's throat, and before Sikks could realize what was happening, Fluffee's throat erupted in a wave of blood. The crimson liquid sprayed and leaker from the slit artery, the blood dribbling down Fluffee's front until it reached the ground, the beginnings of a puddle. Fluffee shuddered, his eyes darting, and fell to his knees. Still grinning, The Killer grabbed Fluffee by his back, and threw him violently at one of the 5th floor plate-glass windows. The window crashed open as Fluffee sailed through it, blood still spurting from his slit throat, and Fluffee hit the ground with a nauseating 'THUMP.'

"WHAT THE FUCK?" Sikks shouted. The Killer laughed, and turned back to Sikks.

"You said it yourself, Sikks. You're here for me, not him."

Sikks snarled, and grabbed the pistol from his pocket and whipped it out, pointing it straight at the killer. "You die today, asshole."

Still smirking, The Killer spread his arms and took a step forward. "You're not going to shoot me, Sikks." He said. "Go on, pull the trigger. Do it. I dare you."

Sikk's grip on the gun trembled slightly, and he lowered it a small bit. The Killer let his arms fall to his side. "Game over." He laughed, and lunged forward.

Sikks quickly raised the gun, and pulled the trigger.

* * *

Ah, cliffhangers. Don't you love them?

Next chapter… One of the killers WILL BE REVEALED! Who will it be? Who's next to die? Guesses are more than welcomed, they're encouraged!

Reviews would be good. Let's hit that 200th review mark!


	23. Breakthrough

Before I begin, I would like to dissuade a few rumors going on right now. I would like to state for the record that the killer DID NOT rape dear Fluffee. Yes, he forcefully kissed him, but that was a show of power… And to creep the fuck out of you guys. Which seems to have worked all too well. So, to reiterate: Fluffee's ass remains rape-free. The Killer did not physically insert himself into Fluffee's being. Etc, etc.

Now to answer some reviews…

Angel – First things first, and this goes for everyone, when you DO review, try to say it all in one. Please don't come back ten seconds later with something else that you could've easily fitted in your first. You have no idea how much that annoys me. Regardless… Your first question, on whether or not Flippy has killed someone. Now, really, what am I supposed to say? Drop everything, put my hands up, and say 'Yep, you got it. It was a hero/villain swerve all along!'? The identity of the killer is for you to figure out, until the grand reveal later on in the story. I've planted a lot of clues throughout the story on the killer's identity. Do these clues lead you to suspect Flippy? That's up to you.  
And concerning the 'Golden Idol' revival trick? No. There is no 'Golden Idol' in this story. No 'Oh hey, I died last week but I'm fine now'. No, this story's gone too far to exit with that anti-climatic ending. Dead is dead. There's no coming back from that here.

TOSTRwaffles – You Google that to your heart's content. Then SlenderMan can freak you the fuck out to HIS heart's content.

Frootloopasaur – I actually hated the saw franchise since I saw a few minutes of number III, I believe, while at a friend's place a few years ago. I know you can't judge an entire franchise on just a few minutes, but fuck, it was during the Rack scene. I think I could be forgive for crying for the TV to be turned off that night. Recently, though, the same friend convinced me just to watch the first one, so I can at least get the idea that it's not just a torture-porn movie. Wasn't as bad as I figured, really.

Schad – You've got the 200th review! And for the record: I love your reviews.

And the others (whose name forgets me. Sorry. You know who you are.) – Cheers, thank you for reading, etc, etc.

Now, let us see who the next victim will be... And who one of the killers are. I know you all are waiting (im)patiently, so let's get into it with the latest installment of Bloody Vengeance: Breakthrough.

* * *

**Police HQ. 4:50pm.**

Rager was by nature a very ambitious man.

Since when he was a young lad, he knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and become the best police officer he could be. Back in those times, the Broadshore Butcher was still running rampant, and no-one could be trusted. Rager grew up hearing of the gruesome tales of the Butcher, starting with what was presumably his first victim, a young lamb by the name of Lammy. He dreamed, dreamed of being the one to bring justice to the victim's families in the form of a jailed killer. But it would be a good while before Rager could join the police force. He would've had to push himself past the limits to even be considered for police work. But as Rager grew older and his goal become closer and closer, the killing had faded away. The Butcher disappeared, leaving in his trail a disturbing amount of victims, some killed directly by his hand, some killed indirectly through stress, fear, paranoia, and the odd suicide. By the time Rager became a fully-fledged officer on Broadshore Island, the killing trail had drained away to nothing, the most serious crimes committed now being just public intoxication and the occasional barfight.

Such an ironic twist of fate, one would often say.

Fuck you, Rager would often say back.

Something never felt right on Broadshore Island. Rager knew this. The peace felt… Temporary. Like a bit of sun in a hailstorm, a slight reprieve from the misery before it continued. So Rager stayed. He stayed on his Home Island, waiting for the day when the reprieve would cease and the killings would begin. In a way, the waiting was the worst part.

Sure, he's received offers from other police stations nearby, the most persistent being L.A, but each time he would refuse politely, on the terms that he couldn't leave his home. It was more than that, though. It was a childhood desire to save the inhabitants from a cruel death at the hands of a sadistic madman. A childhood dream to get rid of the bad guy and finally live in peace.

Rager thought of all this and much more as he paced back and forth in the small interrogation room, a file opened in front of him as he munched on an apple, the thick fruit making what should be an unnerving crunching sound to an average suspect.

But he wasn't with an average suspect, of course.

"Desmond Julian Jazed." Rager spoke, tossing the file onto the table in front of his captive. "More commonly known as DJ."

DJ neutrally nodded. Sitting in the chair at the middle of the interrogation table, DJ let his eyes crawl across his surroundings, stopping on the large wall-length mirror which, no doubt, Ruffy was watching through, ready to interrupt incase anything happened.

"Early twenties, originally from Manchester, England. Son of rich business tycoon, Leslie Jazed."

Hearing a tiny cough from the other side of the two-way mirror, DJ allowed himself a grim smile as he bowed his head.

"Is said to have killed a minimum of six people, possibly more, however due to lack of evidence was acquitted each time."

DJ raised a slight eyebrow. Was it really that much?

"Was first though as a suspect along with everyone else on the Mary Celestay, however as pointed out by one Mrs. Giggles, DJ fits the psychological description of a hidden killer. The discovery of a bloodstained knife in his bag only furthered the suspic-"

"Speaking of which, can I have my bag back?" DJ interrupted carelessly. "It's got a lot of books in it, and no offence, but jail is terrible boring when you're the only prisoner."

"It's back at the hospital." Rager snarled.

DJ simply snapped his fingers in disappointment.

"So, DJ. Let's start things simple. Tell me, DJ. Have you even been to Broadshore Island previously?" Rager asked, sitting himself down in the chair opposite DJ.

"No." DJ shook his head. "Never heard of Broadshore Island 'part from a few days ago, back when Flippy was planning the cruise."

"Alright… Can you tell us of your relation to the first five victims in the 24-hour gap that the Butcher returned in?"

"Well, let's see:" DJ began, ticking the first five known victims off with his fingers. "Cro-Marmot was an annoying nuisance, Mole was a half-deaf, fully-blind annoyance, Mime was thankfully quiet – that's what Mime's are, you see -, Sniffles was too smart for his own good, and Scott… Well, we weren't exactly best friends, but I suppose I was closer to him than the others."

"And do you have anything to prove that you didn't have a hand in their deaths?" Rager questioned, and DJ theatrically shrugged.

"All the proof of anything went up in smoke the second the Mary Celestay decided to explode."

"Well, did you have anything to do with that? The boat exploding?" Rager prodded.

"No."

"You were found walking away from the boat moments before it exploded." Rager deadpanned.

"Yep."

"Can you tell me what you were doing in the boat, then?"

"Just running an errand for a friend." DJ said, carelessly checking his nails.

"An errand for a friend? Care to elaborate on that?"

DJ shook his head. "You wouldn't believe me if you tried."

"This is getting us nowhere." Rager muttered. "Alright, let's talk about your life before this. You were accused of murder several times, any truth to those claims?"

DJ's cocky smirk faded just a tad, now just an uneasy grin. This did not escape Rager's view, recognizing the sudden sap in confidence as, what was the word… Guilt? Close enough, I suppose. There was a knock on the door. Rager glanced at the door opening, Ruffy poking his head in. "Don't mean to interrupt, but Rager? You got a second?"

Rager glanced at DJ, who appeared to be silently thanking Ruffy for the interruption, and nodded his head. He got himself up and exited the interrogation room, shutting the door behind him. "What is it, Ruffy?"

"Rager, before we take this any further, I think we need to discuss our communication problem." Ruffy explained. "I've been trying to contact anyone and everyone on the radio, but anything over a 2-mile radius is static. We're effectively blind to the outside world, Rager! Even if we do solve this case, no-one's gonna know cos the damned radio isn't working."

"Then fix it. Fix the radio." Rager replied, not seeing why Ruffy was making such a big deal about this. Ruffy put his hands to his face and sighed.

"The problem isn't with the radio, Rager." He breathed. "It's with the fucking satellite dish. If it was working properly, we'd be able to reach the mainland no problem. The thing is, we're NOT reaching the mainland or anywhere near it. The satellite's fucked, mate. And no, I can't fix it. But we need it fixed, unless we wait for them to notice our silence and send someone to investigate. And that could take a while, you know how lazy those guys are."

"We'll need someone to fix it." Rager mused, stroking his chin. "Have you given the town repairman a call? What was his name, Xeno, or Aero… Something-o?"

"I've tried, Rager, I've tried so many fucking times his number's permanently mesmerized in my head. But he's not picking up. NO-ONE's picking up."

"This is bad." Rager observed. "Alright, we'll go check on him."

"And if he's not there? If the Butcher's got him?"

"Then we'll have to try and fix it ourselves." Rager eased open the door to the interrogation room. "DJ, you still want your bag? Move your ass, we're going for a drive."

* * *

**Hospital, Staff room lobby. 4:44pm.**

"Okay, think, Flippy. Think, damnit, think!" With each think, Flippy banged his head against his open palms trying to jog his memory. Although this clearly wasn't working. The whole thing would've been very comically, if it weren't for the fact that they were you know, being hunted down one by one.

"Uh… Flippy?" Flaky quizzically asked, raising an eyebrow. "What are you doing?"

Flippy ceased his facepalming for a second, glancing at Flaky. "I'm trying to remember where I left the walkie-talkie Ruffy gave me. We could really use the police here, what with Sikks & Toothy going up to save Fluffee."

"Well, think. Where was the last place you remember seeing it?" Flaky offered, placing a comforting hand on Flippy's shoulder.

"That's what I'm trying to remember!" Flippy cried, before going right back to his (rather violent) facepalming.

"You're not going to find it by knocking yourself out." Flaky reasoned, lighting taking Flippy's hands and guiding them away from his face, down to his lap. "And you're certainly not going to find it stressing around like this. Go get the others, I'll make us some dinner."

"Better not be hospital food." Flippy deadpanned, smiling a smile of tiny proportions.

The sound of glass breaking filled the air, followed a second later by a dull 'thump.'

The small smile disappeared completely, wiped from existence as Flippy glanced at Flaky. "You hear that?" He mouthed silently, and Flaky only nodded in return. Curiosity winning out of fear, Flippy approached the closest window, the blinds shading them from the afternoon sun, and eased them open just a tad.

"You see anything?" Flaky whispered.

"No… Nothing…" Flippy trailed off as his eyes found the broken body a certain individual, collapsed on the pavement, covered in blood with bits of shattered glass surrounding him. "Aw, fuck."

* * *

**Main street of Broadshore Island. 4:55pm.**

"Something's not right." Ruffy said as he slowly drove down the main street of Broadshore Island.

"I know. It's nearly 5 o'clock, usually this place is bustling with the residents." Rager observed, the complete absence of everyone doing slightly more than unnerving him. Indeed, the street was utterly deserted, the only signs of life being the trio in the police cruiser. It was as if something had happened overnight and whisked the entire town away. "Where is everyone?"

"I don't know." Ruffy said, pulling up beside a small grey building. "But we're here. You go grab the repairman, I'll stay here with DJ."

Too uneased to point out the fact that HE was the superior, Rager only nodded, slowly opening the door and warily stepping out. Still glancing around at the empty main street, he ducked into the repair store, disappearing from view.

Ruffy sighed. What kind of fucking nightmare was this? Where the hell was everyone? There was a population of at least 100 two days ago, but what now? His ears pricked up at the sound of a door opening, and he swiveled in his seat to glance into the back. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

"Stretching my legs." DJ simply replied, stepping out of the car into the afternoon sunshine.

It had occurred to Ruffy that the door had been locked beforehand.

Ruffy stepped out his door into the street, the cool breeze only serving to further freak him out.

"It's like something out of a Stephen King novel, ain't it?" DJ said, leaning against the cruiser with a goddamned _smirk_ on his face. It wasn't really the smirk that uneased Ruffy, rather was the fact that _none of the horrors they were facing seemed to bother DJ in the slightest._

"A bit, yeah." Ruffy admitted, casting a glance across the streets. "Where is everyone?" He wondered aloud.

"Dead, probably." DJ bluntly replied. Ruffy glared at him.

"You're not helping." The police officer hissed.

"I'm not trying to."

Ruffy shook his head, then cast yet another glance across the street. You'd think someone would be out and about… His gaze then went to DJ, who's smirk had faded slightly as he stared across down the road, into the distance, at several tall trees with low hanging branches. Indeed, some of the branches appeared to be broken, swaying lightly in the wind… _But they weren't branches…_

Rager exited the repair shop, shutting the door lightly behind him. Speechlessly, he stumbled towards the police cruiser, thrusting a piece of paper in Ruffy's hand. "This is not good." He rasped.

"What is it?" Ruffy asked, noticing how his boss was looking decidedly more… pale, than before. When he got just a persistent silence in response, Ruffy unfolded the note in his hands and began reading. It was only six words, but those five words spoke volumes.

_i can't live with the fear_

Ruffy raised his eyebrows, and re-read the note. He looked at his superior, slowly joining the dots. "He killed himself, didn't he?"

Still pale, Rager only nodded.

"He's not the only one." DJ spoke up, and pointed in the distance.

Ruffy squinted in the distance, his eyes searching. "What is it? I don't…"

But he saw.

_There were bodies hanging from the trees._

* * *

**Hospital Staff Room Lobby, 1****st**** Floor. 4:58pm.**

Flaky served a plateful of beef soup to each of the remaining group, all seven who showed, including herself. It was herself, plus Flippy, Petunia, Giggles, Shifty, Niki, and Sparky. Around the table, each had a grim look of hopelessness etched on their face, most barely noticing the soup placed in front of them. Word of Fluffee's body being found spread quickly, and Flippy called all those available to the lobby for an emergency meeting, as well as some dinner. Toothy & Sikks were (hopefully) still on the 5th floor, and no-one had been able to find Nutty. Flippy took a mouthful of some bottled water, and cleared his throat.

"You have probably heard about the discovery of Fluffee's body." He spoke, feeling everyone's eyes on him. "I don't know what happened to Sikks and Toothy, but we can't assume the worst straightaway. So… So what we need to do, is stick together. There's safety in numbers. Stay with at least two people at all times."

"What if we need to… you know, use the restroom?" Niki asked, raising a hand.

"At all times." Flippy repeated. "Too many of us have vanished just from others turning their back for a split second. Remember Mole?"

They remembered. They remembered how, in a room full of witnesses, the lights were turned out for less than ten seconds. In that time frame, Mole was slashed open…

"I've been trying to find the police radio Ruffy gave to me so we can get them to come back here. Can't find it right now, so if anyone sees it-"

"Didn't Ruffy say he'd be back to check on us after taking DJ away?" Sparky said, looking around.

"Regardless. If anyone sees the police radio, please tell me? We could really use the police here ASAP."

"I got a question." Petunia said, leaning forward in his chair. "What do we do with Fluffee's body? We can't just leave it out there, can we?"

"You have a point, Petunia. We'll carry the body inside after dinner, put it in one of the empty rooms."

"DJ's gonna be pissed." Shifty shook his head. "Fluffee was one of his only friends. How do we tell him?"

Flippy shrugged his arms. "Carefully?"

"Very carefully." Giggles said. "Don't want to hurt poor widdle Desmond's feeling, now do we?"

Shifty rolled his eyes. "Giggles, I honestly don't care what the problem is between you and DJ. But quite frankly, I'm sick of seeing you drag his name through the dirt every time he's mentioned, a'ight? Give it a rest, we're all sick of your shit."

"Excuse me?" Giggles said disbelievingly.

"I'm sorry, are you deaf? Or simply stupid? Should I say it slower?"

"Don't you talk to me like that, you immoral hick!"

"Hey, both of you, stop it!" Niki cried. Needless to say, this didn't work. At all.

"Oh, like you're one to talk about morals, you slut!" Shifty shot, his eyes narrowing. "Tell me, how many times did you sleep around behind Cuddle's back? I distinctly remember Lifty comparing you to the neighborhood bike: Everyone's had a turn."

"Lifty is and was an idiot!" Giggles shot back. "He deserved every bit of his death!"

A silence crossed the table. Giggles had sure as hell crossed a line. You could see the rage building up in Shifty's eyes. Before anyone could stop him (although, to be fair, only one or two tried to actively stop him) Shifty leveled Giggles in the face with a punch that would make Mike Tyson proud. "_YOU FUCKING BITCH!_" He screamed, punctuating the 'bitch' with another hard blow.

"Shifty, stop!" Flippy ordered, grabbing the rabid raccoon from behind and dragging him off Giggles, but not before Shifty got in a final blow.

"_YOU USELESS, FUCKING WHORE!_" Shifty shouted, as Sparky and Petunia checked on Giggles. Still alive, but her nose was clearly broken, and the blood wouldn't stop pouring from it like a leaky faucet.

"Shifty, calm down." Flippy soothed. "She's just a girl."

Shifty snapped towards Flippy. "Just a girl, huh? Well, ain't that good fucking excuse! No matter how much of a fucking evil BITCH she is, I can't lay a hand on her because you think she's 'just a girl'. Well you know what I think? FUCK THAT!" Shifty wrenched himself free from Flippy's grip, gave Giggles one last death glare, and began to leave.

"Shifty-" Flippy began, grabbing Shifty by the shoulder.

"Don't you fucking touch me." Shifty barked, throwing Flippy's hand away and disappearing through one of the doors.

Feeling a headache coming one, Flippy sighed and rubbed a hand against his forehead. "Goddamnit."

* * *

_We, as a species in general, are fundamentally insane._

_You put more than two people in the same room together, and sooner or later they'll be thinking of reasons to kill each other._

_And yet… We still stick together._

_Despite all the overwhelming negatives of being in another's company, over the course of nature it's been drilled into our DNA that it's better to belong in a group rather than stand alone. Being alone has many disadvantages: Loneliness, Apathy, Depression to name a few. Yet being in a group isn't much better. In a group, no matter how well you build it, there will always be one or two cracks that eventually split. Ever hear the term 'One bad apple spoils the bunch'? Or maybe 'A team is only as strong as its weakest member'?_

_Exactly._

_You can't work with people you barely know. This essentially counts for friendships, as you will always be in the dark about SOMETHING concerning your friend, whether it's something small, such as the fact that they're into Hollywood Undead, or something big, like they're secretly a midnight rapist. And when it comes down to it, you know essentially nothing about anything._

_You don't know if there is a god._

_You don't know if the man next to you will help you or hurt you._

_You don't know if tomorrow will come._

_You don't know if the girl in front of you is a friend or an enemy._

_You don't know what happens when your time expires._

_You don't know if the man behind you is planning to kill you or merely main you._

_Sticks cracked and leaves swooshed behind me._

"_Hello, Spades." I said, turning around to face him._

* * *

"You're an asshole, you know that?" Spades snarled, and the figure in front of him laughed.

"I've been called many things, Spades. Your insult doesn't have that much of an effect on me." He said, grinning that sick, twisted grin of his.

Spade's hand, deep inside his pants pocket, brushed the photo of Laces. "Where's Laces?" He questioned, taking a step towards the deranged madman.

He brushed away Spade's question with a wave. "Like I said on the tape. She's being well-kept, looked after, fed every six hours. You've got nothing to worry about."

"I want to see her." Spades spat, taking another step forward as his free hand reached behind his back.

"Spades-" The psycho began, but at the mention of his name Spades snapped. Barely half a second later, Spades charged forwards, now holding a serrated hunting knife, and pinned the killer against a nearby tree, holding the knife millimeters from his throat.

"_I said. I want. To see her._" Spades demanded, the knife held at the killer's throat. All it would take was a little pressure…

There was a long pause. Spades breathed heavily, his shoulders shaking as his grip on the knife held steady. The killed looked at Spades for a long time, eyebrows raised in morbid fascination and – god help us – pride. Pride in what he had created. Pride in the fact that he had taken this kind, noble fellow, and transformed him into… This.

The standoff continued for what felt like an hour, but in reality was slightly less than a minute. The killer's piercing gaze traveled from Spade's determined face, down to the knife held against his throat, and studied it for a short second. Then, slowly, one of his hands reached up, gently grabbed the knife… _And pushed it closer towards his own throat._

"If you're going to threaten to kill me, you need to do it properly." He said, and flicked the handle of the knife ever so tantalizingly. A small cut on his neck appeared as the knife brushed the edge of his skin, not too deep, but still enough to draw tiny beads of blood. "See, Spades? You have to have the knife so close that they can feel it, pressing into their flesh. So they know that you will honestly end their life if they don't do as you say." With that note, He pushed Spades to the ground with strength that surprised even Spades himself. "You've still got a bit of the way to go before you're like me."

"I don't WANT to be like you." Spades said, pushing himself up from the ground and wiping dirt from himself.

"You don't really have a choice in the matter, Spades." The killer said, and with a final glance back at the hospital through the trees, he began to walk away, his feet making no sound against the clattering leaves and the brushing dirt.

"Hey!" Spades called after him. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get Laces." He replied, half-turning to view Spades. "You coming or not?" Without waiting for an answer, he turned and continued down the path, quickly disappearing from sight.

Spades hesitated only for a second, before diving after him.

* * *

**Hospital, 5****th**** floor. Fifteen minutes ago.**

Sikks raised the gun and pulled the trigger.

_Click._

The scowl of defiance faded from Sikk's face, now replaced by puzzlement at the empty click. Before he could comprehend the fact that the gun was _unloaded_, the killer struck, taking Sikks down with a very rugby-like tackle. The gun fell from Sikk's grasp, clattering across the floor and sliding to a halt next to the closed elevator doors. Within an instant, the killer had the knife that killed Fluffee, still dripping blood, against Sikk's throat. "It was a good plan." He breathed. "But not as good as mine." And he thrust the knife downwards, towards Sikk's Adam's apple.

The knife impaled itself in the floor as Sikks dodged it in the nick of time.

A flash of surprise ran through the killer, before he regained his composure. "Crickey, we've got a lively one 'ere, mate!" He said in a mock Australian accent – Why Australian? Who knows. – before punching Sikks full-power in the face with a strike that did not miss.

Sikk's world was suddenly very blurry. And painful. But mostly blurry, the pain a bit of a dull throb as hands closed around Sikk's neck and began to tighten. The blurriness sharpened, somehow out of focus yet very comprehensible. Under other circumstances, it would be very amusing.

"I want you to know, Sikks, that you were going to die whether you saved Fluffee or not." The killer spat, a final pre-mortem liner for Sikks.

"I…"

"What's that, Sikks? I can't hear you."

"I … know." With that note, Sikks quickly and firmly kicked the killer from below right between the legs.

Regardless of who you are, a blow in that area hurts.

The killer hissed, his grip on Sikk's throat loosening as pain ran through his nether regions. Sikks squirmed free, precious oxygen rushing back into his lungs, and scrambled to his feet. The killer got to his knees, looking uncharacteristically venerable, and with a sharp kick that would make CM Punk proud, Sikks kicked him in the chin, the killer's head snapping backwards. The killer fell backwards to the floor, agony running through his jaw, and to the killer's shock and horror, he tasted blood.

This is not how it's supposed to go!

The killer crawled to his knees, spat out a small mixture of blood and broken teeth, and turned back to Sikks, now with a look of pure hatred on his face. "Just for that… You will suffer."

"Oh, well FUCK YOU!" Sikks replied, and readied the killer for another kick -

-When he felt something sharp enter through his back.

Sikks froze mid-kick, and looked down at his chest.

The tip of a bloodied dagger poked out, dripping tendrils of blood to the ground as more of the liquid leaked through the new wound in his chest, beginning to stain his shirt. As quickly as that, the knife was gone, thrust out of the wound by his attacker. Now with no blockage at all, more blood spurted out at a sickening pace, and Sikks fell to his knees, one hand clutching the wound as the pain set in.

He was dimly aware though the pain that the killer had recovered, and wasn't alone.

"You took your time."

"Sorry, got a tad caught up. Besides, it's not like he would've killed you."

"Regardless. Punctuality matters."

"Oh, whatever."

"Don't you whatever me. Now pass me that cable and open the elevator doors."

There was a quiet screeching sound, the sound of the elevator doors being forced open, then a long, thin piece of cable was tied around Sikk's neck in an instant. Blinking, Sikks clawed at the newly-made noose, as two pairs of hands grabbed him by the feet and dragged him closer to the open elevator doors.

Sikks glanced through the doors and saw only darkness.

"Any last words, Sikks?" A voice asked. A new voice. Not that of the killer.

"Yeah. You're an asshole." Sikks said, literally staring death in the face. "An asshole who's only accomplishment will be being _his_ bitch!" Sikks jerked a head in the original killer's direction.

There was a short pause.

"No… you're wrong…" The second killer said with a tinge of anger in his voice. "I. Am going. To be. FAMOUS!" The second killer shrieked, then angrily pushed Sikk's down the empty elevator shaft.

Sikks fell about four stories before the cable wrapped around his neck tightened, very nearly snapping his neck clean off. Broken neck and bleeding heavily, Sikks shivered once in the darkness, before closing his eyes as the life left him.

The original killer watched his apprentice breath heavily as he looked down the pitch black elevator shaft. He placed a hand on his apprentice's shoulders. "Good work. But you let your anger take over you, even if it was just for a moment. You need to learn to control your emotions, Toothy."

* * *

Aaaand plot FUCKING twist! There's your apprentice! Hi-5's for those of you who correctly guessed who it was!

And as for the original killer's rant about knowing others and trust and such… Well, that was taken from my English essay a few months back. We had to write an essay about what our class would do in case of disaster, say, fire, and how we would work together as a group. Being new to the class, I wrote that I'd be safer relying on myself than with others I barely knew. Got high marks for it, too.

See you next time.


	24. Alone Reunion

I am a lazy prick.

SIDE NOTE: Pay attention to the times here, people. For plot and drama purposes, the time may shift from current time to past time, so try not to be confused. Now that that's over with, let's get on with Chapter 24: Alone Reunion.

* * *

**Hospital Outskirts. 5:00.**

The blue & white police cruiser sped down the dirt road, each bump jolting the three passengers. Rager wasn't even bothering to glance at the speedometer, and was barely heeding Ruffy's pleads to slow down as the car jostled over the hard terrain. "It's like a fucking runaway roller coaster!" Ruffy shouted, gripping his armbar for dear life.

Behind him, DJ put his arms in the air and let out a sarcastic "Whee."

After several tense minutes of Rager's desperate driving, the tires screeched to a halt on the dirt outside the hospital, much to Ruffy's relief. "DJ, you stay here." Rager ordered, before opening his door and stepping out. "Ruffy, c'mon."

"Gimme a minute to let my head stop spinning…" Ruffy muttered as he pushed himself out of the car. As the dizzy spell faded, he gingerly nodded his head, and jogged after Rager into the hospital.

"HEY! Anyone home?" Rager shouted upon entering the lobby. "You better not be dead!"

"Jeez, lower the volume a bit, Rager." Ruffy said, putting a hand on his boss's shoulder as Flippy poked his head out a nearby door, caught sight of the police officers, and sighed in relief.

"Thank god." Flippy muttered, eyes closed in a silent prayer to anyone above. "I was trying to contact you guys earlier, but I couldn't find… Know what, nevermind. Just get in here." Flippy beckoned the officers over, pulling them into the room he was in, and slammed the door shut. Ruffy and Rager looked around at this room, concluded that this must've been a staff lunch room once, long ago, took note of Flaky, Giggles and Petunia sitting on a nearby couch, each with a cup of cocoa, and turned their attention to the militistic bear with curiosity in their eyes.

"Okay, we've got some news, but clearly you do too." Ruffy said.

"You go first."

"Okay, well… I'm not sure how to say this, but…" Ruffy paused, looking at Rager for reassurance, receiving an encouraging nod in return. "Everyone in town is dead." He bluntly stated.

Flippy's eyebrows disappeared into his fringe in shock. "Everyone?"

"Everyone. There's no answer when we call out, and I counted at least twelve bodies hanging from trees before I couldn't go on. Suicide."

"Jesus Christ…" Flippy paled noticeably, as he ran a hand through his hair.

"On a slightly less morbid note," Ruffy continued. "I've been trying to fix our satellite, so we can contact some outside help. The local repairman is… out of order, and I don't know half of what I have to. You know anyone who could help?"

"Well… Uh… H-Handy could help, I guess. But he hasn't..." Flippy shrugged his shoulders dejectedly. "He's probably gone by now."

Ruffy sighed. "Okay, we'll try to work through this… Any news you got?"

"Well…" Flippy paused, and glanced at the couch. Flaky gave him a reassuring nod. "The killer struck again."

"What?" Rager double-taked, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"We… We found another victim. About half-an-hour ago."

"Who? Who was the victim?" Ruffy pressured.

Flippy glanced at the couch again, this time receiving a curt nod from Giggles. "It… It was Fluffee."

"What?" The trio whirled around, Rager unholstering his handgun and pointing it at the doorway at the English-accented voice.

"DJ, I told you to stay in the car! How'd you get out?" Rager questioned. DJ either didn't hear Rager's demand or, more likely, plainly ignored it as he stepped into the room, the door swinging silently shut behind him.

"Did you…" DJ stuttered, his face a heart-wrenching mask of disbelief, hoping, begging, praying that he'd heard it wrong. "Did you say Fluffee… Fluffee is-?"

"I'm sorry, DJ. I really am." Flippy shook his head. "About thirty minutes ago, we found his body."

DJ frowned in sadness, the first real emotion Ruffy had seen him express in quite a while. DJ put his hands to his face, breathing deeply. "Where's his body?" He asked, his voice shaking.

"DJ-"

"Please, Flippy. Please…"

Flippy couldn't say no to that mask of pure sadness. "We put it in room F1R3." He admitted. "Second door on the left down the hall."

DJ slowly nodded, and turned. "I'll meet you guys at the car in a bit, 'kay?" He directed at the officers, before walking purposefully out the door.

"Well, we'll be lucky if we ever see him again." Rager noted.

* * *

**Hospital, 5****th**** floor. 4:50.**

Toothy smirked a proud smirk. "I got the job done, didn't I?"

"That you did." His mentor, the Broadshore Butcher, said. "But be careful with your emotions. Anger could very well lead to your downfall."

"Yeah, sure, right." Toothy brushed off his mentor's concerns with a casual wave. "Don't get me wrong, I appreciate you looking out for me, but-"

"I'm not looking out for you, I'm looking out for myself. You get caught, they'll probably find something tying you to me, and I've been at this for too long to be caught just because some stupid beaver couldn't control his emotions."

Toothy narrowed his eyes. "Thanks for the pep talk, but I think I can handle myself."

"Can you? Can you really? You just lost it before you kicked Sikks down the shaft."

"Hey, he-"

"I know what he said. I was there, remember?"

Toothy opened his mouth to say something, found himself speechless, and closed it. His mentor nodded, satisfied, and glanced at the clock. "Alright, I gotta go meet up with Spades."

"How do you know he didn't ignore your request and just sail away?"

"I know, Toothy. Trust me. I've got a final bargaining chip."

"Laces?"

"Bingo. You know where to find me."

As quick as he had come, his mentor disappeared into the shadows.

Alone on the fifth floor, Toothy twirled his knife, still dripping with Sikk's blood, and held the blade to the palm of his hand. He took a breath, closed his eyes, and slashed. Blood frothed and began pouring out of the open wound, Toothy biting his tongue not to shout. The knife clattered to the floor, and Toothy held the bleeding hand in his other hand, stemming the blood flow as he walked down the hall, to the stairwell, and began his descent.

At the third floor door, his paused.

The sound of someone searching loudly through a cupboard caught his attention.

Toothy slowly pushed open the door to the third floor, the door creaking loudly.

The sound of the rummaging stopped.

"Is someone there?" A voice, a familiar voice, called out from one of the adjoining rooms. Toothy allowed a small gasp to escape as he staggered into the hall, making sure to make his bloodied hand viewable. "H-Help." He stuttered.

"Toothy? What happened?" The owner of the voice stepped from one of the rooms, her eyes landing on Toothy's cut hand. "Your hand-"

"My hand is fine." Toothy spat. "But I need your help. The killer, that sick motherfucker, he's got Sikks still alive. He took him to the fourth floor, and we need to go after him!"

Sparky paused. "Alright, let's just pop down and grab Fli-"

"No, we have to go now! While we know where he is! We've got to make him pay for everything he's every done while we can! We've got to avenge out friends deaths, people like Lumpy, Russell, Handy… Sniffles…" Seeing a flash of anger fan through the electricity-blessed rabbit, Toothy knew he'd won this with the mention of Sniffles.

"… Okay." Sparky relented, smiling as thoughts of revenge filled her head.. "Lead the way."

Toothy smiled too, but for a completely different reason.

* * *

"Shifty, wait up!"

Still seething with anger, Shifty ignored the request, trudging on through the forest in a blind rage. That stupid chipmunk bitch… How dare she! Lifty was a better person than she'd ever be.

"Shiiifty, slow down!"

A grey blob bounced beside him, Niki having caught up with the enraged raccoon enough to stand in front of him. "Shifty-"

"Go away, Niki!" Shifty snapped, and instantly regretted it upon seeing the hurt look on Niki's face.

"Flippy said we're not allowed to go off alone…" Niki whispered.

Shifty sighed, his anger slowly dissipating. "I know. And I'm sorry, Niki, but I really need some alone time right now."

"Well… why not be alone with someone else?"

"That's not how alone time works, Niki."

"Why not?

Shifty rolled his eyes at Niki's childish innocence. "Because, Niki, I-" He cut himself off quite suddenly, his ears pricking. He glanced around in different directions, before snapping his head towards the west.

"Shifty, what's-"

Niki suddenly felt one of Shifty's fingers mash against her lips.

"Sssh…" Shifty quietly hissed, his eyes locking with Niki's for one second, before returning to the west. "Listen." He mouthed.

Niki frowned, but complied. She strained her ears, resisting the urge to chat, when she heard it.

A twig snapping.

A bush shaking.

And two voices, barely audible above the wind.

Niki glanced at Shifty, who was staring west in the direction of the sounds. Wordlessly, he began to quietly move towards the voices.

"Shifty!" Niki hurriedly whispered. "What are you doing?"

Shifty didn't answer. Instead, he increased his pace as the voices began to fade away.

Niki hesitated for a second, before chasing after him.

* * *

"_Is she okay? You'd better not have hurt her, or so help me god-"_

"_She's fine, Spades. You can ask her yourself once we get to her."_

"_She better be fine…" Spades mumbled as he trudged along, allowing myself to lead him down the trail. "Can I ask you a question, Spades?" I asked as I ducked under a low hanging branch._

"_No." Spades bluntly replied._

"_How are you going to tell Laces what you've been doing?" I asked anyway._

_Spades didn't answer._

"_What's wrong, Spades? Cat got your tongue?"_

"_I… Shut up." He grumbled, hostility in his voice._

"_We're here." I said stopping. Spades stopped beside me, and raised a suspicious eyebrow. "We're just around the back of the hospital, in the treelines. Where's Laces?" He demanded._

_I made no effort to reply as I bent down, searching through the leaves and dirt until my hand fell on a handle. I swept dirt and leaves away from the handle, exposing a large steel door, embedded in the ground. With a strong tug, I pulled on the handle, opening the door._

_Spades peered down the door, seeing nothing but steps into the darkness. "What the hell is this?" He questioned. "Where the hell is Laces?"_

"_It's an old emergency bunker." I explained as I descended the steps confidently. "This hospital has a basement bunker installed underneath it, in case of a nuclear attack or something. It's been forgotten over time, even city records don't know it exists, but I do. Over time, I've made a few… changes. Safety measures, against my exposure. This, Spades, is my home."_

"… _Wow." Spades whistled as he followed me, our footsteps clattering on the steel reinforced floor. We approached the central lodge of the bunker, my HQ, and Spades blinked against the bright fluorescent lighting._

"_Wow." He repeated, his eyes wandering around the room. I stood and smiled, glad to be back in familiar territory, and watched Spades look around._

"_Is that a security camera feed?" Spades asked, seeing a jumbled of televisions, some of which were blank, some only static, and some which were watching the other survivors. "And a loudspeaker microphone?"_

"_I told you I made a few changes." I said._

_Spades glanced around the room, again, this time his gaze falling on a sturdy white door. He peeked it open, and saw a vast, white hallway beyond. He took a step forward-_

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you. That entire hallway is booby trapped."_

_Spades wordlessly stepped back, shutting the door. "Jesus Christ." He spoke in wonder._

"_Yes, yes, I made a good choice. Spades, you might want to see this." I waved Spades over, and led him to a door, this one more industrial. I grabbed the handle, and heaved. The door slid open and inch, than another, before sliding all the way open. The fluorescent lightening illuminated the otherwise dark room, revealing a figure crouched at the far side of the room, crouched in fetal position._

_Spade's eyes widened. "Laces!" He cried, one of relief, and sprinted to his sister. "Laces, speak to me, are you okay? Laces!"_

_The grey fox stirred, lifting her head up from the ground. She blinked twice, her eyes out of focus, before her vision cleared and her eyes fell on Spades. "Spades?" She whispered, her voice hoarse and cracked. "Is that you?"_

"_It's me, Laces." Spades said, smiling. A single tear trickled down his face, before he enveloped his sister in a much-needed hug. "I was so worried about you…"_

_Likewise, Lace's tears fell to the floor as she hugged her brother twice as hard, her tears now falling freely. "Spades, I was so scared…"_

"_Don't worry, I'm here for you now." Spades choked, tears of relief streaming down his face. "I'm here for you now, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you."_

"_Promise?"_

"_I promise."_

* * *

**5:03.**

With a well-placed kick, Sparky broke the thin wooden barrier that blocked the fourth floor from entry. She and Toothy stepped onto the fourth floor, the lights casting an unnerving bluish glow instead of the usual bright white, illuminating some bright streaks on the walls and floor. Sparky noted, with a tinge of disturbance, that the lights were ultraviolet, and the streaks on the floor and walls were dried blood.

What was more disturbing was that someone had taken the time to write in the blood.

I SEE Y⊗U

I KN⊗W Y⊗U

I G⊗T Y⊗U

"Alright, where do you think he went?" Sparky asked.

Silence answered her.

"Toothy?"

Freaked, Sparky turned to her beaver companion, just in time to feel something heavy connect with the back of her head, and with a small moan, Sparky blacked out.

* * *

DJ dragged a seat next to the bedside in room F1R3, and sat down on it, his eyes focused on those of his downed friend, Fluffee. Just be looking at him, DJ could tell his only friend's death wasn't good. A cut throat and a five-story fall onto hard concrete isn't the best way to go. Fluffee's piercing eyes stared from their sockets, towards DJ it seemed, as if blaming him for this whole mess.

"Hey, Fluffee." DJ said, greeting his friend like he didn't have his neck sliced open. "It's me, DJ. Desmond."

Predictably, he got no response.

"I know you probably can't hear me…" DJ continued, smiling merrily. "But I want you to know, Fluffee… That I considered you to be a very good friend."

A single tear formed in the English cat's eyes, unnoticed. "You were the closest thing I had to a friend. And I treated you like dirt." DJ bowed his head. "I was a terrible friend to you. I want… I want to say that I'm sorry you had to die like that. I'm sorry that I wasn't there to save you. But most of all, I'm sorry I was too close minded to be a better friend to you."

That single tear slid down DJ's cheek. "I bet you're in a better place now, watching me make an idiot of myself…"

DJ laughed once, a short depressive laugh. "It was nice knowing, you Fluffee." He said, raising a hand and putting it to Fluffee's face, closing his eyelids in a show of respect.

"I guess I'll see you in a little bit." He grinned, before lowering his head once more.

* * *

Sparky slowly came to, her vision blurred. Shapes and lights danced in her eyes as she blinked heavily. What the crap just happened? She was on the fourth floor, looking for Sikks, when Toothy-

Toothy. That prick.

Sparky tried to sit up, but found movement impossible. She was strapped down to a gurney, only able to move her head. She tilted her head around, trying to absorb her surroundings. As far as she could tell, she was still in the hospital, fourth floor. The ultraviolet lighting gave it away. She struggled again, barely able to move her shoulders.

Sparky thought about her electrical powers. Maybe she could burn through the straps…

But the electricity backfired horribly, sending bolts of electricity through Sparky's body instead of the gurney or straps. She jittered, gasped, and breathed heavily.

"Sparky. Nice of you to join me."

Sparky whipped her head in the direction of the voice. "Toothy, you asshole! What the hell is going on?"

"Well, to put it bluntly, I'm about to perform an autopsy." Toothy shrugged. "Oh, and you're the cadaver."

Sparky paused as the words shrank in, before absolutely thrashing around, trying to loosen the straps enough to get free. But it was useless. "HELP!" She shouted.

"You can shout all you want." Toothy said. "There's a reason why most surgical theaters are soundproof."

"HE-E-ELP!"

Toothy ignored Sparky's pleads for help, knowing that no-one was coming. He pushed a tray of surgical tools next to Sparky, grabbing the scalpel and twirling it between his fingers. "Look on the bright side, Sparks. You'll be reunited with Sniffles soon enough."

"Toothy, please, no…" Sparky begged as Toothy brought the scalpel down on the middle of her chest, slicing through skin and muscle tissue. Sparky gasped in pain, before screaming as Toothy brought the knife down, slicing open her chest and stomach. Exposed internal organs worked hard, trying to compensate for the sudden shock Sparky was going through. Toothy grabbed her ribs, peeling them apart like beef jerky strips as Sparky's scream escalated. Picking up the scalpel once again, Toothy carefully sliced around the main arteries of her heart, before ripping it out of her chest and holding it above Sparky.

It beat once more, then ceased to work.

So did Sparky.

Her vision fading, Sparky felt the pain dulling. The figure of Toothy was shadowy replaced by that of a scientist anteater, holding his hand out for Sparky to join him.

Sparky breathed out once more, slipping into death as she accepted Sniffle's hand.

* * *

Hands up who shed a tear during the Spades & Laces reunion scene? Twenty four chapters apart, and here they are, finally reunited. There, there. I got a box of tissues here.

And Sparky has left this world into the Great Beyond, reunited with HER love, Sniffles, in one final dream as death welcomed her. Another box of tissues.

And DJ breaking down, showing emotion at the death of his closest friend. Tissue?

I apologize once again for the long wait. Microsoft word is such a bitch sometimes. And I'm lazy too, so that's not good either.

So who's next? Find out next time when I'm able to update!

~ DJ.


	25. Dead Reckoning

So help me Discord, sickness and vomiting will not stop me from updating Bloody Vengence! So, yeah. Sorry for the wait, details on my DeviantArt journal entry (DJShifty366, for those of you curious to hear the tale of how I vomited my guts out over the past month), now let's just hope I get better soon enough to update something.

Chapter 25: Dead Reckoning

* * *

"I guess I'll see you in a little bit." DJ grinned, before lowering his head once more. He patted the limp wrist of Fluffee once, before getting up to leave. He cast a final look at his fallen friend, one final glance at the now-relaxed, now-peaceful look on Fluffee's face, lingering for only a second longer, then exited the room, quietly shutting the door behind him.

DJ let out a sigh, closing his eyes as he leant back on the door. DJ didn't have many friends in life, to be honest. He had trouble trusting others, a lot. And in return, others had trouble trusting him. But Fluffee was different: Fluffee didn't judge DJ for what he was. Fluffee was always on hand with a good joke or a laugh. It was still hard to believe that the closest thing DJ had to a friend was now lying dead in the other room, back broken and throat slashed beyond recognition, and DJ was sorely tempted to go back in.

Instead, he pushed himself up, and began walking down the hallway of the hospital, pausing at the large glass double doors. No-one was out there. Ruffy and Rager must've still been talking to Flippy. DJ pushed through the doors, stepping outside, and noted with distaste that there was a storm brewing, if the dark black clouds above were any indication. The wind was picking up too, a light yet forceful breeze that felt like it could pick up at any second. DJ shivered once, heading towards the parked police car, and waited.

It was about fifteen minutes later Ruffy of the Broadshore Island police force exited the hospital, an expression of surprise crossing his face as he saw DJ, waiting for him. DJ waved a hand slightly in greeting, and Ruffy grinned. "Ha, Rager owes me $20 bucks now! I knew you'd still be here!"

"Where else am I gonna go, Narnia?" DJ replied, stepping into the back passenger seat as Ruffy stepped into the drivers. "Where's Rager?"

"Hmm? Oh, we figured one of us should stay with the main group at all times. I'll get to accompany you back to the jail cells, then I'll call him on the walkie-talkie and decide what happens next."

"Ah." DJ nodded, pausing for a moment before leaning back in his seat, retreating into his thoughts. Ruffy glance din the rearview mirror, but said nothing, opting to leave the cat to his thoughts.

About ten minutes later, DJ spoke up. "Say, Ruffy, any luck finding someone to fix the satellite?"

Ruffy shook his head as he ignited the engine. "Nope. Their handyman hasn't been seen since six, and ours is… well, you know."

"I see. Well, what would you say if I told you I know someone who could be able to help you out?"

"Who?"

"Me."

Ruffy glanced in the rearview mirror. "You?"

"I read a lot, sometimes in mechanical and technical repairs. I think I can figure out how to fix it, with enough time and supplies."

"No offense, DJ, but you gotta admit, you're not exactly the most trustworthy guy around here."

"You're damn right, Ruffy." DJ admitted. "I'm one of the most untrustworthy bastards you'll ever meet. And I'm also your best chance at fixing that damned thing and getting some help. Our time is running out, and if we don't do something to get outside help, we'll all be dead by tomorrow. Besides… I kinda want to do something good before I die."

Ruffy paused, considering and weighing his options. He was silent for a full minute, before breaking into a grin and reaching for his walkie talkie. "Rager? It's Ruffy. I think we may have a breakthrough with our satellite problem."

* * *

As the rain began to pour, Niki shivered. She had followed Shifty as Shifty ran after some noises, but as the cold rain struck her, hard droplets of water, she began to reconsider. She'd do anything for her friends, but jeez it was cold. And she didn't exactly have an umbrella or anything to ward off the rain, while Shifty at the very least had his fancy fedora. But Shifty was barely noticing the rain, too preoccupied with finding out where the voices were.

Were there any voices, though? Niki silently wondered as she continued following her raccoon friend. Shifty claimed to hear footsteps and voices a way off a few minutes ago, and maybe Niki did too, but it's also just as likely it was her imagination.

It was raining heavily now, storm clouds having arrived quicker than expected. A dense mist began to form, a creepy dense mist that could've been lifted straight outta Silent Hill. Niki hurried to keep up with Shifty, not wanting to get lost in the forest, in the dark, alone. If there was one thing she did not like, it was being alone. Friendship is a bright beacon of light to her, the warm fuzzy glow of being with those she was close to a feeling that could cheer her up at any time.

Lost in her thoughts, Niki bumped into Shifty, very nearly knocking herself to the ground. Shifty had stopped in a clearing, looking around in all directions, squinting through the fog.

"What is it?" Niki asked, her voice barely audible above the heavy downpour.

"They're gone!" Shifty shouted back.

"Who's gone?"

"The voices!"

Niki raised an eyebrow at that. Looks like Shifty may have gone off the deep end moreso than originally suspected. The green raccoon continued to look around desperately, his eyes a notable shine of hopelessness, before deciding on a direction and marching towards it.

"Shifty!"

"This way!" Shifty bellowed back, beginning to disappear into the fog, before his figure suddenly disappeared.

Niki's eyebrows shot into the air. "Shifty?"

No response.

"Shifty?" Niki shouted, as the horrible feeling of loneliness began to descend upon her. With the dense fog swishing and blowing, it was hard to tell which direction Shifty had disappeared in. It seemed like the arena was slowly spinning around her. Niki's lip trembled, her fear skyrocketing.

"Over here!" A voice suddenly shouted back.

Niki dashed to the sound of the voice, the fear slowly dissolving as the voice of one of her friends rang through her ears. As the approached, the fog split, revealing Shifty's figure crouched on the murky forest floor.

"Oh, thank god." Niki breathed a sigh of relief, crouching beside Shifty.

"I tripped over something." Shifty replied, brushing the dirt beneath him curiously.

"I think we should head back." Niki said. "It's getting dark and wet, and the others-"

CLANG.

Niki stopped as Shifty's fist pounded against the ground, a metallic clanging sound echoing. Smirking in victory, Shifty brushed more of the dirt away, revealing a dull-grey sheet of steel.

"What is that?"

Shifty didn't answer, merely continuing to brush the dirt and leaves away, before his hand gripped around something and pulled. With a horrible creaking sound, the door in the ground squeaked open, revealing a small flight of steps that descended into darkness.

Niki stared into the dark tunnel apprehensively. "You've got to be kidding me."

Shifty, once again silent, peered into the corridor, before slowly approaching the steps and walking down them, his footsteps echoing in the tunnel.

"Shifty!" Niki said. "What are you doing?"

Like a man possessed, Shifty again made no response as he slowly, methodically, creepily, climbed down the steps.

Niki paused, and glanced around. Be alone in the spooky forest, or with one of her friends in an equally spooky tunnel?

Niki nervously shook her head, before scrambling after Shifty into the corridor.

* * *

Spades held his sister tightly, brushing her hair with a comforting hand, whispering reassurances to her. In time, her sobs had lessened to gradual sniffles, and finally to glorious silence. Spades continued to comfort her, silently wondering what HE had done to her. After a short while, Spades broke the embrace, looking his sister in the eyes.

"Laces, what happened?" Spades asked. "How did you get here from HT Town?"

Laces breathed in and out slowly, her chest heaving. Spades waited patiently, as he always did when it came to Laces, letting her work up the words before beginning. "It… It was about twenty minutes after you had left for the boat. I-I was watching TV, when someone knocked on the door. I… I thought it was you, but…"

Laces shook her head.

"Buuut?" Spades gently prodded. He could put the pieces together himself, but he wanted to hear it straight from his sister's mouth.

"But when I opened the door, two people were there. They came in before I could stop them, shut the door behind them, and then… Then…"

"Woah, woah, wait. Two people? You sure?" Spades quirked an eyebrow. Two people? Two killers? This was bad. Very bad.

"Yeah…"

"Okay. Okay. Then what happened?"

"They… They hurt me. When I woke up, I was here. Every few hours, one of them would come in… give me food, water, and… He'd talk to me."

Spade's other eyebrow shot up into his fringe to join the other. "Talk to you?"

"I didn't like it when he did. I begged him to stop, but he'd smile and keep talking…"

"What did he say?"

"He… He…"

"Laces, what did he tell you?"

"He… said he was proud of you, Spades."

A knocking on the door interrupted their thoughts, before the door was pushed open.

* * *

_I sat back in an old swivel chair, watching the monitors with dull interest. There didn't seem to be a lot going on at the moment, which was always a disappointment. I crave entertainment. But these damned survivors seemed more focused on not letting anyone else die than amusing me, even if they didn't know it. Oh, well. I suppose I couldn't blame them that much. The will to survive can be a tough thing at times._

_The highlight of the hour was that English cat breaking down over the loss of his friend, which came as a surprise to me. I was unaware that snob had any friends. Moreso, it was surprising to see the normally-stoic cat show an emotion other than sarcasm, mockery, annoyance, or general disdain for his fellow being._

_But now, something was happening. Something almost right outside my door, in fact._

_I glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. 5:30. I got to my feet, giving the monitors a quick glance again, before turning to the large metal door a few steps away. I could hear Spades consoling his sister, again, reassuring her, and inwardly gagged._

_I knocked on the heavy door once, then pushed it open. "Not interrupting anything, am I?" I asked, seeing Spades and Laces both glare at me, both for different reasons._

"_Who are you?" Laces whispered. "Why are you doing this to us?"_

_I raised an eyebrow, and took a second to think. "Mostly because it's fun, Laces. Spades? May I have a word with you?"_

_Spades glanced at his clearly terrified sister, giving her a quick hug before getting to his feet. "I'll be back in a minute." He promised. "I'll be fine."_

_Laces gingerly nodded, cuddling herself as Spades stepped out of the room. After he exited, I shut the door behind him and turned to him. "Spades, I-"_

"_What did you say to her?" Spades demanded._

"_Pardon?"_

"_What did you say to my sister, you asshole?" And suddenly Spade's fists were wrapped around the collar of my shirt, and he had pushed me back against a wall. "I swear to god, if you said any-"_

_I punched Spades full-flush in the jaw while he was ranting. Spade's grip on my collar loosened as Spades fell back, one hand clutching at his jawbone._

"_You seriously need to calm down." I said, brushing my front as Spades gave me such a withering glare. "Now, we can stand here all day discussing the finer points of chatting with your sibling, but there's more important things to do." I tossed a piece of paper towards Spades, landing it at his feet. "There's your instructions. You have a choice this time. Any questions?"_

_Spades's eyes glossed over the paper for a few seconds, before glancing at the closed room in which Laces was within. "One. Did you do anything to Laces to get her here?"_

"_Oh, she didn't want to go with us. So I… persuaded her to come."_

"_You bastard." Spade's teeth clenched. "If I come back and so much as one hair on her head is harmed, so help me god I will-"_

"_Beat me within an inch of my life?" I snarked. "Trust me when I tell you, as long as you do as I say Laces will not be harmed. I don't know how many times I've said it now, but there you go. Satisfied? Good. Now off you go, before the rain gets any worse. You'd better take the side entrance. We're getting some visitors in a few minutes, and I don't think you should be here when I meet them."_

_Spades shivered. He knew what I meant when I said meet them. "Okay. Fine. Where's the side entrance?"_

_I pointed at a hallway, past the monitor collection and the hall of booby traps. "Down that hallway, there's a hidden door that opens up to the beach. Follow the map afterwards, and you'll be fine."_

_With a final suspicious glance at me, Spades ducked through the hallway, quickly disappearing from sight. The area was silent, the sound only my footsteps as I stepped back to the grid of monitors, and switched some dials. Now, instead of playing the current events around the island, each of the monitors played a different death replay._

_I heard the far side door opening, the hatch creaking open. That'd be our new guests, right on time. I'd better get ready to welcome them._

* * *

After Rager had sent Ruffy on his way, he turned to the remaining four in the room, five including himself. The army vet and unofficial leader of the group, Flippy, was chatting to the timid red porcupine, Flaky. Rager couldn't see how those two could be a couple. They were fucking polar opposites, for Christ's sake. What on earth did they have in common?

He switched his view to Giggles and Petunia, the pink chipmunk and blue skunk, respectively. They seemed to be deep into a discussion about… shoes? Seriously? Well if it kept their mind off their possible deaths, sure.

Rager frowned. That was no way for an officer to speak. No-one would be dying on his watch! Well, no-one else, anyway…

"Hey, um, Mister Rager?"

Rager perked an eyebrow. 'Mister Rager'? Boy, did that remark make him feel old. He glanced at the source of the question, the porcupine Flaky. "Yes, Flaky?"

Flaky glanced at Flippy behind her, who nodded encouragingly. "Who… What kind of person would do this sort of thing? Purposefully kill others?"

Okay, Rager had to admit, he wasn't expecting that question. But he maintained his composure, merely sitting down on a seat as he thought about it. "Well… It varies each time, but it all usually boils down to one of three things…  
Revenge: The killer feels as though they've been wronged somehow, and make up for it in the form of taking other's lives,  
Money: Some people do this for a living, taking in tens of thousands of dollars for each ordered kill, or, Power: It's been known that people can grow weary of the droll of everyday life, and some attempt to… liven it up, so to speak. It's been said that the feeling one gets after taking someone's life is a sense of power, so people who lead otherwise unimportant lives have been known to do this."

Rager paused, his mind flashing back. "But there's a small percentage who don't fit in either of the three categories. Whether they are desensitized to death and violence, suffered some severe psychological trauma again at an early age… Or think differently from the rest of us, not having the emotional captivity for caring about others as much as normal people do. These people you can't figure out."

Though he didn't say any names, Flippy knew he was talking about DJ.

"So… So do you think that… Anyone, could be a killer?" Flaky asked.

"Well… Yes, anyone can be a killer. Through normal accidents or one-time bursts of anger, one can kill another. Killing many people throughout a large timespan, however, is an entirely different matter."

"One more thing, Mister Rager. Have you killed someone before?"

Rager froze. His mind flashed back to a short while ago, himself crouched above junior officer Oscar's body as he bled out, thanks to a bullet shot to the gut by Rager. It was an accident, Rager had kept saying. A loss of control, the result of letting paranoia drive him.

He sighed. "Once. It was… unpleasant."

Flaky got the hint to drop it, and returned to silence.

"_Rager? It's Ruffy."_

Rager scrambled for his walkie-talkie, the sudden sound of Ruffy's voice making everyone in the room, even those who were listening to Rager's speech, jump. He grabbed the talkie and put it to his mouth. "Rager here. What is it?"

"_I think we may have a breakthrough with our satellite problem."_

"… I'm listening."

* * *

How on earth could he be sleeping at a time like this?

Toothy shook his head as he watched the form of Nutty sleep peacefully, curled up underneath the hospital-issue blanket. A light snore could be heard from somewhere in Nutty's being. Toothy mentally wondered how no-one else had heard Nutty's snoring, before glancing down into a paper bag by his side, just checking once more that he had everything he needed.

Then he poked Nutty in the belly.

"Zzzzzzzz…"

Toothy poked Nutty again.

"Zzzzzzzzzzzz…"

Toothy rolled his eyes, leant over, and smacked Nutty on the side of his face.

"Son of a-"

"Sssh!" Toothy hurriedly whispered, putting a hand against Nutty's mouth. "Be quite, or they'll hear you."

Toothy kept that pose for a few seconds, checking to make sure none of the others were making their way towards Nutty's room, before finally letting go once Nutty began licking his palm. "Ew." Toothy shook his hand dry, turning to face Nutty.

"Hi, Toothy! What's happening?" Nutty asked.

"Something bad, Nutty." Toothy gravely spoke. "Get up."

"Wh-"

"Get up." Toothy forcefully repeated, and at his urging Nutty sat up in bed, swung onto his feet, and wiped his eyes.

"Okay, I'm up, bro. Now, what's going on?"

"First things first." Toothy nodded his head over at the window overlooking the ocean. "Go close the blinds. What I'm about to show you is extremely valuable and could save us all."

"Is it candy?"

"… Yes, Nutty. It is candy. Candy will save us all."

"How?"

"Nutty, go close the damned blinds!" Toothy snapped. How could that sugar-freak not get the hint? Jeez. He wouldn't be able to find his ass with both hands tied behind his back and a map.

Sensing the urgency in Toothy's words Nutty approached the window took a quick glance outside, before messily closing the blinds. "There. Now wha-" He cut himself off as he turned around, and saw Toothy.

Toothy was now wearing a gas mask. Toothy dropped something to the floor – a now-empty brown paper bag – and held a canister in his hand. He waved it in the air, before gripping the pin and pulling it off.

Instantly an audible hissing filled the air, and Toothy dropped the canister to the ground. A thin cloud of smoke began to emit from the canister, already burning Nutty's lungs. Nutty gagged, putting a hand against his mouth and nose, before emitting a hacking cough. A small drip of blood fell on the ground. Seeing the red liquid charged Nutty up. Still gasping for air, Nutty slowly approached Toothy, before diving forward, knocking the unsuspecting Toothy down. Nutty weakly batted at Toothy's gas mask, trying to knock it off, leaving a thin handprint on the plexiglass. Toothy merely had to push Nutty's hands away. Suddenly Nutty coughed once again, this time harder, more forcefully. A bucket of blood landed on Toothy's visor, blinding him, and Toothy heard Nutty cough gutturally twice more, before his body collapsed atop of Toothy's.

Toothy wiggled out from under Nutty's body, and leant back against a wall, wiping the blood off his visor. Ew. Trust Nutty to be as disgusting as possible in his final moments. Several minutes later, the sound of the canister's poison spraying in the air eventually died down. Toothy waited a few more minutes for the poison to disperse, before getting to his feet. He took a breath, and unclasped the gas mask.

Nutty's body laid on the floor, in a pool of his own vomited up blood. Toothy carefully approached the body, kicking it onto it's back. Nutty's face stared back at him, fresh blood stemming from his mouth, nose, and even his godamned eyes.

Toothy kicked the body a final time, just for vomiting blood on his a minute ago, before turning to leave.

* * *

Review if you want to. It makes me happy when you do. A happy DJ Shifty is a slightly-less sick DJ Shifty, and a slightly-less sick DJ Shifty is someone who'll more likely get off his contaminated ass and update something.

Love, DJ Shifty.

~ Jake.


	26. Famous

Hey, remember me? I'm the lazy prick who seems to have trouble updating his most popular story more than once a month. If you're pissed at the long wait, I don't blame you. Have a brick. You may throw it at any particular part of my body save for the face. Or the crotch. I kinda like having those.

I apologize for the delay, again, but… Know what, let's just skip the excuses and go right to the story.

Chapter 26: Famous

* * *

"So this is the radio tower?" DJ asked, as Ruffy pulled the police cruiser to a stop. "Gotta say, it looks pretty run-down, unstable, easily-collapsible… I could go on."

"Yeah, it is, but don't." Ruffy replied, killing the engine and scanning the building with his eyes. DJ followed his gaze, his eyes cast upward at the tall, thin structure in front of him. It was more of a broken, fatigued black skeleton than any regular building, really. If he had to guess, DJ would say that his building was about seven, eight stories tall. If you could call it a building, of course. The only thing that could be called a 'building' in this consideration was a small, grey-brick room at the base of the black skeleton tower thingy. From the top four corners of the grey-brick room, thin black strips of metal jutted out in a diagonal slant, which gradually came closer together the higher it went, until it converged at a single point at the eight story mark. It was like someone has taken a triangle, stripped away the surface, and dumped what was left on top of the grey-brick room.

"The grey room is the main control center. There's a ladder in the middle that takes you through the roof, all the way up there…" Ruffy indicated to the very top of the structure, where the strips of metal reached their triangular point. "And all the way up there, is the satellite dish." He continued, pointing a finger all the way up to the top of the diagonal metal structure thingy.

DJ followed the point of Ruffy's finger until his eye line reached the very top of the building. "Lovely." DJ deadpanned. "Alright, so do you think it's the satellite that's causing trouble, or the central station?"

"I think it's the satellite." Ruffy mused, straining. This was clearly not his forte. "The central control station seems to be fine, just emitting static whenever I try to contact someone outside."

By now, the rain had subsided to a light drizzle, but the fog remained. Ruffy opened up the driver's door and stepped out, DJ following him after a pause. Ruffy led them to the grey-brick room, pushed open the door and stepped inside. DJ joined him, glad to be out of the rain, even for a second. He hated the rain. Hated being wet in general.

The control panel greeted them with dozen of blinking buttons and switches, much more than seemed necessary. It was like whoever had designed this contraption looked at the finished product and said 'Know what? It's not colorful enough. Stick on some more buttons here, there, see if you can make a pattern.' Ruffy glanced around the room, found a small red tool bag on one of the shelves, and handed it to DJ. "This has stuff that'll help in fixing the satellite. Screwdriver, spare wires, hacksaw, stuff like that."

"Uh-huh. And I'm supposed to climb up that rusty old ladder with a tool bag strapped around my waist, in the cold wind, completely unsecured?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Sorry bout that." And Ruffy shrugged apologetically.

Resisting the urge to facepalm, DJ simply rolled his eyes, strapping the tool bag around his waist as he glanced up the ladder through the hole in the roof. He put a hand on the first rung-

When Ruffy stopped him.

"For what it's worth, I believe you." Ruffy said.

DJ raised an eyebrow. "Believe me about what?"

"About you being innocent in this Broadshore Butcher debacle."

DJ raised an eyebrow, Ruffy's words slowly sinking in. "That means a lot to me." DJ simply replied, before resuming his attention to the ladder, and began his slow climb.

* * *

"What was all that about?" Flippy asked as Rager tucked his walkie talkie back in his pocket.

"I'll tell you later. Right now, we need to sit everyone down here, and talk." Rager replied, waving a hand at the only others in the room, Flaky, Petunia, and Giggles, respectively. Flippy glanced at them, then back at the gesturing officer, before raising an eyebrow.

"Can I ask why?" He questioned.

"Because, we need to figure out how many of your friends are dead, and how many are not. From there we can track down and decide which is the most likely suspect-"

"With all due respect, Rager," Flippy, interrupted, crossing his arms and frowning. "I don't think any of my friends would even consider for one second doing this sort of thing."

Rager waved away Flippy's protest with an offhand wave. "Yes, yes, whatever. Humor me, okay? People have dark sides. No use sugarcoating it. People can be evil. Can kill. Like I told Flaky, anyone can kill another. And I need all your help in narrowing down everyone from your ship until we've got a decent idea of who may have a hand in the killings."

Flippy glared at Rager, unmoving, before he relented with a defeated sigh. "Okay, fine. If it helps."

"It will. Trust me."

"Whatever. Alright, everyone take a seat." He directed to the others, motioning for them to sit. Flaky, Petunia and Giggles exchanged glances, but obeyed, all sitting on a dark blue couch. Flippy sat himself down on a slightly-darker blue armchair, and Rager pulled the swiveling receptionist's chair and sat on it, spinning a tad before stopping.

"There's something we need to discuss." The police officer stated, leaning forward. "It's not a happy thing to discuss, but we need to do it. There's a box of tissues on the table if anyone needs them."

"Excuse me, Mr… Regar, was it?" Giggles asked, raising a hand.

"Rager." Rager corrected somewhat harshly. He didn't know what a Regar was but it sounded twisted.

"Mr. Rager, what are you on about?"

"What I'm on about is narrowing down the list of suspects until we have a better idea of who the killer may be. And, I'm sorry to say, this begins with you four recounting whose dead." Rager inwardly winched at how blunt he had said that. He really needs to be more tactful. "Not the best thing to discuss after dinner, granted, but I think it'll help considerably. It'd be best if you had either seen the body or the death itself."

The four exchanged glances. "Well?" Flippy asked his friends. "What do you think?"

There was a lengthy silence, before Flaky spoke, her timid voice filled with fear. "I… I suppose, if it'll help…"

"Trust me, it will." Rager said, nodding.

"Well… Alright." Flaky sighed. "Let's get this over with."

* * *

"I like to think that I grew up normally. Didn't have an absent parent, or an abusive sibling or anything like that. Nope, both my parents loved. I was their only child, and they showered me with praise at every opportunity."

His audience made no response, listening intently to his story, hanging onto every word. He gave one of the audience members a light slap across the back of the head, and said member slumped like a ragdoll.

"I loved them, and they loved me. Still do, as a matter of fact." He explained, taking a swig of whisky he'd found hidden in one of the cabinets a few minutes ago. It tasted old and bitter, but strangely satisfying at the same time. "We send each other cards every Christmas, ain't that nice? I grew up normal. Had a normal life. Normal friends. Normal family. Normal job working at a cashier at either McDonalds or KFC – I can never remember which is which – overall, a very normal person."

He chuckled, and took another mouthful of the whisky. "It was as if I was destined to be just that. Normal. Ordinary. Just a guy you'd pass on the street and think nothing of. And to be honest, I hated it." Now he frowned, bitter. "I hated being normal. My granddaddy was a famous artist, did several artworks for MondoMedia, did I ever tell you that? Of course I didn't, no-one ever asked. I was just that normal guy, what're the odds that I'd be related to someone famous? Pah."

He cast a gaze at his rapt audience, all quiet, having no answer. His glare fumbled, and he turned to the whisky bottle. "He was everything I've ever wanted to be. He was a somebody. He was special. He was famous… But the thing was, I wanted to be a somebody! I wanted to be special! I wanted to be famous! But no, I'm too normal to be famous, I don't have the talent granddaddy did to paint, all I got are the same skills that EVERYONE FUCKING ELSE in the world has!"

He glared at the audience again, almost daring one to raise a hand and make a snide remark. When none came, he took another swig of the whisky and gazed out the window. "I wanted to be famous. To be remembered. And the thing is, you know… I will. You see, a few days ago I was approached by… somebody. He wouldn't like me telling you his name. Gets paranoid. Old prick." He impacted this remark by swinging the bottle carelessly in the air, spilling a drop or two of the whisky onto the floor. "I was approached by him, in private, while everyone else was playing hide and seek or something like that. Did I ever tell you how good I am at hide and seek? Bin Laden's got nothing on me. At first, I was skeptical, wondering how many screws this guy had loose. But he has a wonderful way with words, you see. He's a visionary, a leader, a fucking genius if I ever saw one. And he offered me a chance… He offered me a chance to be famous. To be special. To be… somebody."

His eyes twinkled, now remembering the scene fondly. "And you know what? I took it. I took the chance, and look at me! Years from now people will be telling stories about ME! They would talk about ME! I would be REMEMBERED! I would be SOMBODY! I would be SPECIAL! I would be FAMOUS!"

He breathed heavily, wondering if the whisky had anything to do with his outburst. He shrugged, took another mouthful of whisky, and glanced at his audience. "You guys make a great audience, anyone ever tell you that?"

The battered and bloodied bodies of Nutty and Sparky both remained silent.

Toothy smiled and took another drink of whisky. "I'm special now. I'm gonna be famous."

* * *

"I don't like this." Niki whispered. "It's bad."

Focused, not listening to his companion, Shifty trudged onward, making as little sound as possible. The tunnel was nearing an end, and the bright neon glow of fluorescent lights began to greet them. The tunnel ended, and Shifty and Niki stepped into a large, open chamber.

Compared to the hospital, this place was more modern and updated. A wall of TV monitors sat at one end of the room, the pictures grainy and fuzzy. In front of them, sat a desk filled with papers and photos, a plush swivel chair and a microphone, perfect for a observer or a commentator. To their immediate left, a large steel door, and to their right, a small wooden one. Up ahead, next to the wall of monitors, was another door, this one a sturdy black one in sharp contrast to the silver steel and brown wood.

"What is this place?" Shifty asked, amazed at the scene before him.

A soft but audible sobbing could be heard.

Shifty glanced around, instantly on alert, but Niki had already located the source of the noise. "It's coming from here." She said, motioning to the large steel door. She and Shifty approached it, and with a careful glance at Shifty, Niki knocked on the door.

"Hello?" She whispered. "Is someone in there?"

"Help… me…"

"Shifty, help me open the door." Niki ordered. The voice sounded familiar, somehow. She and the klepto raccoon braced a shoulder against the frame of the door and pushed, hard. The door squeaked, and slid open.

Fluorescent light flooded the now-unlocked room.

It looked like an old bathroom, exposed pipes everywhere and ever a mirror on one side. There was even a sink beneath the mirror and several magazines stacked in the corner. No toilet, though. Odd. But apart from the bathroomishness, there was one other thing on here that drew Niki's breath short.

"Laces?"

Laces, Spades sister, Niki's friend she hadn't seen… How long has it been? Seems like forever. Laces was chained by her ankle to one of the exposed pipes. She looked tired, scared, miserable... How long had she been down here?

"Niki…" Laces whispered. "Help…"

Niki was instantly by her old friend's side, questioning her, looking over her situation. There were a few scraps of food littered around the floor, so that meant she was being fed. That was good. She took a glance at the chain keeping Laces here. It looked thick, heavy. "Shifty, see if you can find something to cut through the chain."

Somewhat unused to taking orders from someone, let alone Niki, Shifty opened his mouth to protest, but closed it when he say the look on Laces face. "Alright. I'm on it." He said, backing out of the room into the main area.

"We'll get you free." Niki said, stroking Laces by the forearm. "You'll be out of here in no time."

Shifty glanced around the main room, then shrugged and approached the desk. It was cluttered with bits of paper and photos, some blank, some with only a few words on them… and some that were… disturbing. To say the least.

_I can no longer hide the beast that lies within._

_Why deny who you truly are?_

Below that was an old, black & white faded photo: A lamb, lying motionless on her back, head tilted so that the cold, long-dead eyes were staring right at the camera when the picture had been taken. Shifty noted with a growing disgust that her neck was disfigured, misshapen.

Below it were the words:

_The first victim._

_She broke my heart._

_So I broke her neck._

Creepy.

Shifty shivered, as if the lamb's eyes were staring at him. He placed the photo back on the table and looked for a key or a tool. Nope, nothing here but mountains and mountains of paper, documents, photos… And Shifty didn't exactly want to go through them one by one.

He glanced at the two other doors in the door, the sturdy black one and the not-so sturdy wooden one. He made his choice, approaching the wooden one and eased it open.

A living area of sorts greeted him.

A small bed lay on one side of the room, while the other side was cluttered with, well… Junk. Bits and scraps of whatever anyone could find, random assorted items with tags attached to them. Shifty wondered what in the hell he was looking at, before spying something that could be helpful near the outskirts of the pile: A battery-operated buzzsaw.

He bent down to pick it up, his hand brushing against the tag. It said something like _Moku_ but to be honest he didn't take that big a look at it. As he gripped the handle, he… he felt someone's eyes, boring into his back. Shifty glance behind him, seeing nothing different save for the sturdy black door swinging slowly.

He shrugged, knelt down to pick up the buzzsaw again, when a thought struck him.

The black door wasn't swinging a second ago… And there wasn't a breeze… So…

Shifty instantly felt his blood run cold.

He whirled around, buzzsaw in hand, and shouted.

"NIKI! I DON'T THINK WE'RE ALONE HERE!"

* * *

"He'll find a key or something, I bet. You know how good Shifty is at finding things." Niki said, trying to reassure Laces, but she was beyond that, kept muttering about 'him coming back.'

"He'll be back in a minute." She said, rocking back and forth. "He'll be back and he won't be happy that he has guests."

"Who'll be back?" Niki asked. "Spades?"

Laces slowly froze, staring not at Niki but at the doorway behind her. She audible gulped. "Him."

Confused, Niki turned around.

Standing in the doorway, the silhouette of a figure stood, observing them.

The figure raised a hand and gave a small, almost mocking wave.

"NIKI!" Shifty suddenly shouted from somewhere else in the area. "I DON'T THINK WE'RE ALONE HERE!"

Before Niki could do anything, the figure in the doorway had grabbed the large steel door and wrenched it shut, engulfing Niki and Laces in darkness.

* * *

Shifty heard the steel door slamming the second he shouted for Niki.

He bolted out the room back into the main area, buzzsaw in hand, and frantically looked around.

There was no-one there.

"Niki?" He called out, cautiously.

No response.

Shifty looked carefully around the room.

Nothing to suggest anything should be out of the ordinary, save for the black door swishing and the steel door suddenly slamming, locking Niki and whatshername… Laces inside.

"Niki, what happened?" He asked, hoping more than expecting to get an answer.

A sudden flash out of the corner of his eyes, and Shifty turned just in time to be bowled over, tackled to the floor by… someone.

The back of Shifty's head struck the hard floor with a thud and he groaned, seeing stars. Dazed and confused, Shifty didn't realize that his mystery assailant had grabbed the buzzsaw and switched it on until it was too late.

Shifty's eyes widened, but before he could get out of the way his attacked thrust the buzzsaw into his face, the blade slicing through his head quickly and messily.

Shifty let out a small shout, which quickly turned into an ever smaller gargle, before his head was unceremoniously sliced in two vertically.

* * *

_I breathed heavily, looking at the other raccoon's body. The head was ripped apart, quite messy, blood staining all down my front. I smiled, lifted up the buzzsaw, and turned around._

_The heavy steel door, where I knew Laces and the other one would be waiting, scared out of their minds, waited. I got to my feet, brushing some flakes of flesh of me, and approached it._

* * *

I hate myself. I'm such a prick, not updating for ages.

*sigh*

Oh, well.

Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays or whatever you do this time of year.

~ DJ.


	27. Brick Joke

You know, I just realized something.

I wrote the second half of last chapter on autopilot while I was zoned out. Must be why that chapter doesn't flow quite as well as some of the other ones. Pity.

Well, I'm awake for the writing of this chapter. Let's get on with it, shall we?

Bloody Vengeance, chapter 27: Brick Joke

* * *

_Tick._

_Tick._

_Tick._

_Tick._

_Tick._

"Well?" Rager asked, raising an eyebrow at his silent companions. "Who wants to start?"

Flippy glanced at Flaky, Giggles, and Petunia expectantly. With all three of them remained silent, he rolled his eyes and shuffled in his seat. "Alright, I'll go first."

"Thank you, Flippy." Rager nodded, and motioned for him to begin.

Flippy hunched over, thinking. "Fluffee. Me and Flaky saw him get thrown from this building to the ground. By the time we got to him, it was too late."

"Alright…" Rager mumbled, quickly writing down Flippy's words on a notebook. "Not Fluffee, right. Any others?"

"Ummm… Mime. Found him killed in the ship bathroom. It looked like Sniffles might've done it, but we found him the next day without any blood in his system."

"Mime… Sniffles… Go on."

Flippy hesitated ever so slightly, before sighing. "Len. Len Spidd."

Rager's pen paused over the notebook. "Who?" He asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

"The captain of the ship." Flippy explained. "Though most of us know him better as, well, Splendid."

"Wait, he was Splendid?" Giggles blurted, surprised. "I figured he was just an old navy buddy of yours."

"Army."

"Whatever. Splendid, really?"

"Really." Flippy nodded. "He just wanted a holiday without people fawning over him. So he made up this fake name and asked me to keep it a secret."

"That makes sense… I guess." Giggles shrugged. Flippy was about to continue, when an idea struck one of the others.

"Wait." Petunia said, leaning forward. "You said this 'Len Spidd' character is dead. And that Splendid is Len Spidd in disguise. So does this mean that Splendid's dead?"

"Yes." Flippy admitted bluntly, silently preparing for the uproar that followed.

"Impossible. This is Splendid we're talking about! The guy who punches through cars on a regular basis! He can't be dead!"

"But he is." Flippy persisted.

"How?"

"The boat exploded. DJ told me Splendid was still inside it when it went kaboom."

"But he's Splendid! Explosions can't hurt him… can they?"

"No. They can't. " Flippy shook his head, then produced a small brown box from his pocket. "But this can." He flipped it open, displaying the kryptonut DJ had given him earlier. The others leaned forward, gazing upon it's destructive glow, before Flippy snapped the box shut and put it back in his pocket. "I'm guessing that it must've weakened him enough for the explosion to finish him off. Either way, he's dead. Can we move on?"

"Yes, let's just move on please? All these secret identities and glowing green nuts are confusing me." Rager said, winching. "Giggles? You got anything to add?"

Giggles opened his mouth to speak, but at that instant the door flung open with a loud 'BANG.'

Rager instantly whipped around, pulling his pistol out of its holster and aiming it at the doorway, his finger twitching against the trigger.

"Hey guys." Toothy breathed, clutching at his shoulder, where Rager could see a thin strand of blood seeping out. "Miss me?"

* * *

"Note to self: Never volunteer for anything again." DJ muttered, balanced on one of the beams near the satellite as he tried two wires together with a strand of copper wire. It'd been a hard ten minutes, and DJ had electrocuted himself several times, and in all honesty he was close to giving it up. What was the point? They all were going to die sooner or later.

"How's it going up there?" Ruffy called out, far below in the small shack at the back of the building.

DJ mentally slapped himself, because if he did it physically he probably would've lost his balance. And it was a long fall down to the ground. He was remained exactly why he was helping out in the first place: To at the very least give everyone a chance of getting out of here safely, in one piece. He focused on the task at hand, duct-taping one wire back where it belonged, and called back down. "Give it a go now."

A thundercloud rumbled above.

"And hurry up! If I get stuck up here in the rain I'll hold you responsible!"

There was a short silence, followed by a barely audible 'click' that was lost behind the strong thunder. DJ glared at the satellite, silently hoping for it to work when-

The satellite beeped.

DJ blinked.

Then the satellite began humming faintly.

DJ felt a smile make its way across his face, and he oddly felt like cheering. He did it. The satellite was working! They were going to be saved!

Grinning, DJ began the careful climb back down the structure.

He got around halfway when he heard a crashing sound from below.

He whipped his head down, squinting. "Ruffy? You okay?"

No answer.

The grin fading, DJ climbed down further and faster. Once he got low enough, he let go and jumped down to the floor of the shack. Wincing on landing, but altogether okay, DJ looked around the control room. "Ruffy?"

Another, smaller crash answered him, coming from a store room to his left. DJ warily approached the closed door of the store room, suddenly uneasy. This didn't seem right. Edging to the store room slowly, he pushed open the door with one hand.

The unconscious body of Ruffy greeted him, lying on the dirty floor. Ruffy's chest heaved up and down, a sure sign that he was alive and breathing, but it looked like it'd be a while before he woke. And when he did wake he'd have one hell of a headache, by the looks of it. DJ stepped forward, meaning to check to see how bad Ruffy's injury was, when something occurred to him.

Something seemed off.

DJ didn't think he was alone.

DJ turned around, just in time to duck as something hard missed his head by inches, slamming into the wall behind him with a loud 'thump.' DJ stumbled out the doorway, slipping and landing on his back as he turned to the doorway.

"Spades?"

Spades frowned. "Sorry, DJ. I got orders." He said, picking up the hammer from the floor.

"Orders? What orders?" DJ questioned, though he had a faint idea of what those orders may be.

"I don't have a choice." Spades shook his head. "Just stay still and it'll be over soon."

"… You're working for him aren't you?" DJ said, the jigsaw puzzle forming in his head. "I knew something seemed off about you this morning."

Spade's shoulders sagged. "Please, just… Don't make this hard on me, okay?"

"I'm guessing you're not doing it willingly…" DJ mused, either not caring or plainly ignoring Spade's request. "Blackmail? He got some incrimination photos of you?"

"No, nothing like that. It's not me at all, it's… No, just stop."

"Not you at all? Then…" DJ paused for a moment, than smirked. "Laces."

Spades groaned.

"He's threatening to hurt Laces unless you do what he says." DJ deuced, getting to his feet.

"I'm pretty sure he already has hurt Laces." Spades admitted, his stance lowering. "But he says I can get him to free Laces if I play my cards."

"Spades, question. What do you think will happen after he's done with you? When the rest of us are dead, do you really think he's just going to let you and Laces go? Leave this hellhole and resume your normal, boring everyday lives?"

Spades froze, and DJ saw that he had struck gold with that remark. "I-I'll think of something." Spades stuttered.

"Will you? Will you really?"

"Yeah! There's another boat-"

"Oh, another boat, huzzah. Don't you think he's anticipated for this? Don't you think he knows there's another boat there, waiting? Don't you think that maybe, just maybe, he's prepared for when someone tries to drive that boat off into the distance?"

"DJ-"

"Face it, you're a dead man walking Spades! He's going to kill you after he's done with you, and you know it! That's how he's survived all these years, by getting rid of anyone who knows anything about him! You're going to die, Spades! You keep playing his games, and you're going to die! Laces-"

"ENOUGH!" Spades yelled, raising the hammer. Trembling, Spades glared at DJ with the force of a thousand suns, and slowly the grin faded from the latter's face. "I have to do whatever I can to protect my sister. And if that means… this, then fine. I'm not going to die. Laces isn't going to die. I'm going to save her. But to do that, I need you."

DJ blinked. "Sorry?"

"You. He sent me here, specifically for you."

DJ raised an eyebrow. "… How about that." He muttered. "Alright, Spades, the floor is yours. Why me?"

"He said you were special. And he has extra plans for the special ones."

"… I'm not sure whether I should be insulted or gracious… Go on."

"The way I see it, he's going to be busy with you for a while. Ten minutes, minimum. That'll give me enough time to free Laces and get the fuck out of here."

"So I'm bait."

"If you want to look at it that way, fine, you're bait. I'll send help once I reach mainland. But for now, I need to do this one job, and then I'm home free."

With that Spades took a step forward.

"Spades, you should know I'm not going down without a fight." DJ said, taking a step back and silently cursing his sub-par fighting skills.

"I know." Spades nodded.

And the battle began.

* * *

_I put my ear against the door to Laces cell, and listened. I could hear her and Niki's hushed voices, no doubt trembling in fear. I gripped the buzzsaw in my hands, and pulled open the door._

_The faces of two terrified friends stared up at me. Niki's eyes took in my blood-stained form, the lack of Shifty, and put the pieces together. "Shifty-"_

"_He's gone." I said, taking a step forward. "Just another statistic now."_

"_You son of a bitch." Niki growled, standing. "You should be ashamed of yourself. Hurting all these people, what did they ever do to you! You-"_

_Not in the mood, I raised the handle of my buzzsaw and struck Niki across the chin with it. She stumbled, falling to the floor at blood seeped from her mouth. From the looks of things, I broke a few of her teeth. I smiled at this._

"_You fucking asshole!" Niki spat, leaning forward. "You-"_

_I kicked her in the face, enjoying the feeling of another tooth shattering out of its place. Niki collapsed to the floor, gurgling. Belly down on the floor, she only moaned in pain as I pushed a knee into her back, before straddling her with my full weight pressed on her spine. I flicked on the buzzsaw, and lowered it to the base of her neck._

_I heard a voice scream dimly from behind me, no doubt Laces. Reveling in the fear, I licked my lips and pressed the spinning blade down, cutting open the back of Niki's neck like a piece of fabric. Niki screamed and tried to move, but I kept my entire weight down on her as I pushed the deadly blade deeper through her neck, slicing through spinal cords and scraping apart the spine itself. Oh, and fun fact: Unlike what many will tell you, a spinal cord injury does not mean instant death._

_Niki's screams faded, the buzzsaw cutting through her neck completely, and her head rolled on the floor, before coming to a rest just next to the arm._

_Niki's tongue flopped out and landed on her elbow._

* * *

Well… That was certainly… Traumatizing, for Laces I'd bet.

And yes, there is a brick joke here before you ask. First person to figure it out will receive a special prize.

And you may notice that the chapters are beginning to get shorter. This is due to the slowly-thinning cast and the end being just around the corner. I may abandon my 'only one death per chapter' rule next update to keep things exciting and suspenseful, what do you guys think?

~ DJ Shifty.


	28. Oportunity Rises

A/N: What? Yes, this was updated on Friday, why do you ask?

**Chapter 28:** _Opportunity Rises_

* * *

Spades grunted, shifting DJ's body on his shoulder as he trudged on. Sure, he expected DJ to put up a fight, but not THAT big a one. Hell, he could still feel the empty spaces at the back of his mouth where two teeth had been knocked out. Still, better than DJ's current condition – unconscious and most likely on his way to death. Spades felt a small pang of regret at this thought, but shook his head. He still wasn't happy with the idea, but it was the only one he had. And he was willing to do anything to get himself and Laces off this island. Alive.

Course, DJ himself wasn't too happy with the idea, and frankly Spades couldn't blame him. Learning that you had to die in order to help save two people, one you didn't know, the other you barely liked wasn't a good thing to hear. But, as Spades kept telling himself, it was for the greater good. Spades and Laces would escape, inform the proper authorities, and then never set foot on this island again. And hey, maybe it won't be too bad for DJ. He might have a merciful death.

But considering who was orchestrating this thing, Spades kinda doubted it.

"Don't think about it, Spades." He whispered to himself as he struggled onwards. "In half-an-hours time you'll be out of here. You can regret later, not now."

His words echoing around in his mind, Spades trudged on. He could see the outline of the hospital now just in the distance, which meant the entrance to the bunker underneath shouldn't be that far away. Hopefully. He didn't want to backtrack to the side of the cliffs just for the rear entrance to the bunker. Though considering , A) how well-hidden the main entrance to the bunker was, and B) how Spades had not one clue where it was, it looked like he may have to take the other route.

And if that wasn't enough, now DJ was talking in his sleep. Wonderful, just what he needed.

"I don't like it here… It's scary…" DJ mumbled. "I want to go home."

"We all want to go home." Spades replied, quirking a grin at the idea of DJ, the brave and bad DJ, being scared of this place. The prick hid it well, he'd give him that. It hit Spades a second later that he was talking to an unconscious body, and he mentally slapped himself. Okay, focus. Where was the entrance to the bunker? It was somewhere inside the forest tree line surrounding the hospital, right?

"Should've kept the map." Spades muttered, shaking his head. DJ made a small groan, which could've been a groan in agreement, but with him being unconscious and all it was hard to tell. Either way, Spades took it as a sign he should hurry up. It was hard enough knocking DJ out the first time, he didn't want to go through the hassle of doing it again.

Through sheer luck, it seemed, luck or fate, Spades miraculously found the bunker entrance after a few minutes of careful searching. And by 'a few minutes of careful searching', I mean he tripped over a tree root and accidently dropped DJ's body on the steel doors embedded in the ground. The echoing 'thud' was both enough to tell Spades that he was literally right on top of the entrance, and that when DJ woke up he would have one hell of a headache.

Pulling open the surprisingly heavy doors, minding the creepy squeaking sound they made, Spades lifted DJ back on his shoulders and stepped gingerly down the stairs into the dark abyss. The doors slammed shut behind him, seemingly by themselves, and Spades choked back a surprised gasp. It was just the wind blowing them shut. That seemed like a plausible excuse. Yeah, let's go with that. Edging him way down the hallway, Spades breathed a sigh of relief as light flooded the area.

That sigh of relief quickly turned into a sharpened gasp of surprise as he stepped into a puddle of cool crimson blood.

"What the-"

"Hello Spades."

"FUCK!" Spades jumped, accidently dropped DJ's body again, and whirled around, his heart beating faster than a jumbo jet. Breathing heavily, he wiped his face with his hands and glared at the Broadshore Butcher.

* * *

"_Why so jumpy, Spades?" I asked, smirking as Spades took a moment to recollect himself. He fixed me with a glare that screamed hatred, and I chuckled._

"_Don't sneak up on me, asshole." He spat, and I raised an eyebrow._

"_Someone's short-tempered." I noted, and seeing Spades look around at the blood and gore on the floor, I answered his question before he could ask it. "We had some visitors. I took care of them." To illustrate the point, I beckoned Spades closer, and pointed to the slain body of Shifty._

"_Oh, Christ." Spades gagged, getting a rather bad view of the contents of the raccoon's skull, splattered messily across the floor. I patted him on the shoulder, nearly knocking him off his feet._

"_Oh, cheer up. It's not that bad."_

_Spades made a disgusted groaning sound, and turned away, before his ears pricked up. "Hang on, you said 'visitors'. More than one."_

"_Right you are, Spades. She's in there." I pointed over my shoulder at the heavy steel doors to Lace's cell. Spades nodded, then did an instant double-take._

"_That's Lace's cell. What did you do to her?"_

"_Nothing." I truthfully said, but Spaces clearly wasn't convinced so I expanded. "Well, I may have killed one of her best friends before her eyes in there, but she should be fine." _

"_YOU WHAT?"_

_I rolled my eyes and motioned for Spades to settle down. Rather than calming down, he instead bolted to the cell and began tugging on the door to open it, to no avail. He glared in my direction, and in response I waved a set of keys in my hand. Snatching them out of my hand, he instantly unlocked the door and pushed it open._

_With Spades no doubt checking up on that sister of his, I turned my attention to the motionless DJ, crumpled on the floor. Kneeling down in front of him, I waved my hand in front of his face, and to my surprise he began to stir. Whatever Spades did, it wasn't enough. I straightened myself up as DJ began to blink and take note of his surroundings his expression slowly changing from drowsiness to alertness._

"_Hi, DJ." I said._

_Hearing my voice, DJ froze. He slowly tilted his head up, locking eyes with me as he assessed the situation: Him, on his hands and knees, at my feet. Me, standing above him with bad intentions on mind. His eyes widened, but before he could make one sound I lashed out and kicked him sharply in the face. His head snapped back, his mind lapsing back into unconsciousness as he hit the floor._

_That should keep him asleep for a good while now._

_I easily lifted the cat onto my shoulders – jeez, he weighed nearly nothing – and took a glance at the clock. 11:02. Good, DJ should be dead by midnight. "Spades?" I called out. In the corner of the cell, consoling his sister and making a point not to look at what had once been Niki, Spade's head shot up. "I'm going to take care of business." I motioned to the body of DJ slung over my shoulders. "I should be back in an hour. Stay here and watch over things."_

_I stood until Spades nodded, then satisfied with his response I began to walk away towards the exit. "Oh, and Spades?"_

"_What?"_

"_Good work. I'm proud of you."_

"_Fuck off."_

* * *

Spades waited.

He waited until HIS footsteps had long disappeared, until the clang of the steel doors slamming shut echoed from his mind. When all was quiet, Spades whispered to his sister. She looked up at him with reddened eyes, and blinked. Spades grabbed the buzzsaw, still wet from Niki's remains, and quickly began to cut through Lace's chain with renewed vigor. Laces hadn't seen her brother this determined for a long time.

The chain snapped, making a dull clinking sound on the floor, and Spades threw the buzzsaw away and helped Laces to her feet. She nearly tripped, spades catching her at the last second, and Laces asked for Spades to repeat his words one more time.

"I said get up, Laces. We're going home."

* * *

"Me and Sikks were hunting around from 'im on the fifth floor," Toothy explained, sitting on the corner of the couch as Giggles sewed his shoulder wound shut. "There was a bunch of crazy shit on the walls, ramblings of a lunatic and whatnot. We tried looking for him, but he was a sneaky prick. Last thing I remember is getting K.O'd. when I woke up I was alone on the fifth floor. I don't know what happened to Sikks, though."

"Don't know whether he's dead or alive?" Flippy questioned.

"Nope. Haven't seen him since I woke up." Toothy replied.

"Then he's dead." Rager said, running a hand through his hair. "If he's alive, he would've at least tried to get back to us."

"There, all done." Giggles said, snipping off a strand of string from the sewing of Toothy's cut. "Didn't look like anything serious to me."

"I must've got lucky." Toothy commented, winking at Giggles. Giggles blinked. Did Toothy just wink? Toothy didn't wink, he could barely stutter though a pick-up line. Something seemed off.

"Either way, we're glad you're okay." Petunia said, giving Toothy a surprising hug. Toothy paused, then hugged her back, patting her on the back. It took Giggles a moment to remember that Toothy had been their friend for a very, very long time. Ever since childhood. But this Toothy seemed different to the old Toothy, somehow. Something about his behavior seemed… more confident, sure of himself…

Out of the corner of her eye, Giggles saw Rager and Flippy meet eyes, the former nodding towards the doorway. Flippy nodded, and the two got up and left the room. Giggles glanced at Flaky, who was welcoming Toothy back, and got up to follow the police and army officer.

"Something's not right." Rager was saying. "That wound of his looked too shallow to be like a real attack. And we're up against someone who'd been killing longer than I've been alive: People don't get lucky in these situations."

"You don't know Toothy like I do." Flippy argued. "I've known him for years. He couldn't hurt a fly, let along consider this kind of thing."

"Rager's right." Giggles spoke up, and Flippy & Rager's attention snapped towards her. "The wound is self-inflicted. And there's no visible sign of him being unconscious, like a bruise behind the head of anything. I'm sorry Flippy, I hate to say something like this, but Toothy's changed."

Flippy looked from Giggles reluctant expression, to Rager's nodding face, before sighing. "Okay. We'll keep an eye on him though the night. Rager, can you get in contact with Ruffy, see how his mission's going? I don't want to stay here anymore than I have to."

"Sure, I'm on it." Rager said, grabbing the walkie-talkie out of his jacket and walking down the hall.

* * *

"Where are we going?" Laces groggily asked as she followed her brother through the dense forest. The silver light of the moon was the only illumination during the hasty trek, and Spade's persistent silence was beginning to creep her out. He hadn't said a word since he told her that they were going home, back in her cell.

Spades silence continued until he stopped outside the boatyard. He looked around for anyone watching, then sighed in relief. "C'mon, keep up." He said, sprinting across the pier. Laces hesitated once, than followed. She slowed at a small shack, a horrible smell emitting from it, and –

"Laces, c'mon!" Spades whispered hurriedly. Abandoning her curiosity, Laces dashed to join her brother on the pier as he approached the only boat docked: An old fishing boat. He immediately climbed aboard, holding his hand out for Laces, and helped her climb aboard too.

"You're serious about this…" Laces said in awe, as Spades knelt down to start the motor.

"Serious as serious can be." Spades replied, smiling for the first time in a very long time as the motor roared to life. "Laces, we're getting away from this hellhole. We're going home." He sounded so overjoyed saying that sentence that his smile was infectious, and Laces couldn't help but break into a smile too. "Laces, there's a bunk below deck. Go grab some sleep."

"Alright, Spades, ya big hero." Laces said, ducking under deck and leaving Spades alone above deck. They were quickly gathering speed, sailing away from Broadshore Island, and Spades couldn't be happier. He bounded to the steering wheel, keeping it steady as the boat became faster, and Broadshore Island began to shrink.

"Good riddance." Spades muttered, watching the island until it disappeared from view.

* * *

Somewhere not too far away, in a dark and dirty room, a lone body stirred. He murmured a pained groan, holding a hand against his head as he blinked and took note of his surroundings. The only sources of lights were two hanging fluorescent light panels, hanging from the ceiling, barely enough to illuminate five feet in front of him, let alone the entire room. But what they did illuminate cast an unnerved chill down his spine. The steel walls were a rusted brown, dusty and unkempt much like the steel paneling of the floor. This place couldn't look more abandoned without a sign somewhere on the walls that said so. Judging from the general 'abandon all hope, ye who enter' atmosphere, it'd probably say 'QUARANTINE HAZARD: AREA FORECLOSED' or something like that.

"Where the bloody hell am I?" DJ asked.

As the words left his voice, a resounding clanking began to rumble, and more lights turned on until the entire room was lit. DJ was sitting in a large room, looking just as abandoned as his initial guess, the top halves of the walls aligned with plate-glass windows. Wooden tables and chairs lay dismantled on the floor, and on the far side of the room, an oval-looking door sat, the only way out apparently.

"Oh, you're awake." A voice said, coming from the ceiling. DJ's head snapped up, seeing no-one there. The voice must be coming from the announcement speaker in the corner of the ceiling. "Good, we can get started."

"Get started?" DJ questioned, getting to his feet and stepping forward. "What the hell are you on abo-"

DJ suddenly felt himself being halted, and looked down at his feet. Someone was stuck around his left ankle. Lifting it up to get a better look, DJ saw with dismay it was a locked chain around his ankle, the length of which extended from his ankle, to a sturdy metal exposed pipe in the corner. He wasn't going to go far unless he managed to unlock himself.

"I see you've noticed your little predicament here." The voice said.

"No shit, Sherlock!" DJ snapped. "Get this thing off of me!"

"I can't help you. Well, I can, but I won't. I'd rather watch you die."

"Godamnit." DJ muttered, studying the chain. It was thick and heavy, so he probably wouldn't be able to break out of it without breaking his foot. He'd need the key. DJ looked around at his surroundings, trying to find something that could help. Nothing, nothing, and nothing. Brilliant. In exasperation, DJ looked out the window at the vibrant blue sea.

And immediately regretted it.

At least now he knew where he was.

He was in the underwater aquarium.

"Oh, fuck… Let me out of here." DJ breathed, trying very hard not to panic He was visibly paling, trembling as he stumbled back from the window, noticing with horror how old and unreliable the windows looked. It wouldn't take much for them to crack open and spill the ocean in here. Of all the places, it had to be exactly where his phobia would start acting up. "Please… I'll do anything, just let me out of here…"

"Did I already break your spirit? I though you would've lasted longer before cracking, but no-one's perfect. You want to get out? You want to live? There's only one way you can get free from here and survive. You have to play a game."

* * *

Spades could not stop smiling as he continued to speed away from the hellhole that was Broadshore Island. He made it. He went through hell, saved his sister, and survived, all in mostly-one piece. Once he reached land, he'd inform the proper authorities, and save who else might still be alive by then. He-

His thoughts were interrupted as the motor made a vulgar spluttering noise, and he inspected the contraption with a smirk. It was out of fuel. Course. The spare fuel containers should be in one of the cupboards.

Spades knelt down and began to shift through the cupboards, until he found the spare fuel container… And a note. Puzzled, Spades grabbed the note, his smile slowly fading off his face as he read the text.

_Spades,_

_I gave you a chance to be somebody, to be like me and have your name etched in history. I could've killed you eight times over, but didn't because I saw something in you. Something which you continue to deny exists._

_As you ride off into the sunset, Spades, remember this: You know who you are. You know what you've done. Society will look down on you for doing such things, and by extension your sister. You've ruined her young life, Spades, even if it wasn't entirely your fault. But don't worry, Spades, I have a plan to make all their suspicions go away, make you seem like just an innocent bystander, or a potential victim who ran when he could. Consider it as my last favor to you, in gratitude for a day's service._

_Sweet dreams, Spades._

Spade's mind raced as he absorbed the full text of the letter. Okay, that was a few worries off his chest. As he absent-mindedly wondered what his supposed plan to clear Spades of suspicion was, he glanced in the cupboard and stopped.

A small, green glow was emitting from behind a cardboard box.

His feelings going south, Spades carefully pushed the box out of the way.

Behind the box was a carefully-crafted device, metal and wires sticking out at odd places. At the head of the device a small timer slowly counted down with a green glow.

_00:30_

_00:29_

_00:28_

_00:27_

_00:26_

Spades was looking at a bomb powerful enough to level a building. It was literally attached to the inside wall of the cupboard, making it impossible to take out, and Spades defusing it was one hell of a long shot.

_00:25_

_00:24_

_00:23_

_00:22_

_00:21_

Spades felt something click inside of him, and rather than screaming and panicking he calmly got to his feet, closed the cupboard, and began to walk down the stairs below deck.

_00:20_

_00:19_

_00:18_

_00:17_

_00:16_

He silently closed the door behind him. It was all quiet below deck, Laces sleeping deeply on one of the bunk beds as the boat rocked ever so slightly.

_00:15_

_00:14_

_00:13_

_00:12_

_00:11_

Spades patted his sister gently on the head, and she stirred quietly in her slumber.

_00:10_

_00:09_

_00:08_

_00:07_

_00:06_

Spades gingerly laid himself down on the bunk bed opposite his sister, and tucked his arms behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling.

_00:05_

_00:04_

_00:03_

Counting his last remaining seconds in his head, Spades thought back at all the good times he had with his friends. Partying, socializing, everything. A single tear leaked from his eye and trickled down his face, though he made no motion to wipe it away.

_00:02_

_00:01_

Spades turned his head and looked at the sleeping form of Laces.

_She seems so peaceful._

And in his heart, so was Spades.

_00:00_

_Click._

**BOOM.**


	29. Face Your Fear

Hey guys.

Do you hate me for taking so fucking long to update?

Well, good news, I hate me too.

I hate myself for taking more than three fucking months to update my only current story. I hate mself for being such a weak-willed son of a bitch that a simple godamned cold stops me from writing. Most of all, I hate myself for letting every single one of you readers down. I've promised time and time again that I'll be quicker in updating next time, but guess fucking what, that promise has been broken several times over.

And for that, I apoligise.

Here's the next chapter.

* * *

"I want to play a game."

Watching the captive feline from a monitor in the sercurity room of the aquarium, I took note of his reaction, not only to my words, but to his surroundings. It was obvious he was unnerved – a blind man could see that – though that was due more to his vast fear of the sea rather than me, I'd guess. Of course I knew about his fear: I know everything about Desmond Julian Jazed. I know that he can barely tolerate anyone around him, I know that he conned his family out of about half a million dollars, and I know that he killed others. Many, others.

It was admirable, to an extent.

It was going to be interesting to see how he reacted to having his life in my hands.

DJ paced nervously on his feet, no doubt thinking about what game I may have in mind. Clearly rattled, he rubbed his hands against his face, as if still trying to believe this situation.

"Okay… Okay…" He mouthed. "What 'game' are we talking here?"

"The rules are simple: You win, you walk out of here free, alive. You lose, you don't."

"No shit." DJ muttered. "What do I have to do?"

"If you want to survive, you'll…" I trailed off, an idea occurring in my head, and I smiled. "Actually, wait there. I'll come down and explain it to you personally. I want to see this."

* * *

In the dark, cold corridors of the Broadshore Island Hospital, a lone figure stirred.

Despite the rush of a possible killer on their hands, each member of the group slowly began to drop off to sleep one-by-one, heading to their respective rooms to catch some well-needed Z's. Slowly, they bade each other a quite goodnight, all too painfully aware that they may not wake up to see the others again. Soon, the building turned to silence, it's occupants sleeping the stress away until another day.

Save for one.

Petunia rolled over in her lumpy hospital bed, trying to get comfortable but ultimately failing. Perhaps she drank too much water… Either way, it's hard to sleep with a full bladder. Yawning, Petunia climbed out of bed, tip-toed over to her room's door, and pushed it open.

The creak echoed throughout the building.

She stepped out into the cold hallway, looking for the general toilets. The one in her room was broken and clogged up severely, most likely due to several years of zero maintenance, so she was hoping the public ones would be at least clean. ish.

Petunia tread lightly, not wanting to wake anyone else up, as he headed for the toilets, when suddenly she was tackled from behind, thrown facedown to the floor with a 'smack' that echoed throughout the building.

A hand quickly wrapped itself around her mouth.

And a knife was placed precariously against her throat.

"Ssssh." Said a voice.

_Click._

"Don't move." Said another.

* * *

The first thing Ruffy registered was that his head hurt.

The second was that the lights were bright.

The third was that his head hurt.

The second-in-command officer of the Broadshore Island police force blinked against the glare, sitting up in the janitor's room of the radio tower. He groaned, clutching at his head as he crawled to his feet, and made a mental note to get a helmet.

"Hello?" He called out. Ruffy didn't know how long he was out, but maybe DJ or someone was still here. "Anyone?"

His shout was answered with complete and utter silence.

Ruffy staggered out of the janitors closet, noticing several things at once:

His head hurt.

There are signs of a struggle.

And the main blinker on the satellite control panel was blinking green.

Ruffy blinked, sluggishly.

The panel blinked, not so sluggishly.

Ruffy glanced up the hold in the ceiling at the now-working satellite, and smiled.

"Oh, yes. Oh, FUCK YES!"

Ruffy dove for the radio receiver, quickly punching in the emergency broadcast hotline to the mainline, and waited impatiently, bouncing on his feet.

_Click._

"This is the US Coastguard emergency hotline, please state your name and your business." A female officer who, judging by the tone, was bored as hell, answered the call. Instantly, Ruffy launched into blabbering, trying to fit as much information as he can in the timespan of several seconds, before manually calming himself down and answering like the professional he is.

"Oh thank god! This is Police Officer Ruffy of the Broadshore Island police force, we are in SERIOUS hell over here, and you need to send help, NOW!"

"Mr. Ruffy, this is not some joke line you call when you're bored."

"NO SHIT, DOES IT SOUND LIKE I'M ORDERING A FUCKING PIZZA? WE'VE GOT A FUCKING MURDERER ON OUR HANDS, A GODAMNED SERIAL KILLER WHO'S ALREADY DONE AWAY WITH HALF THE POPULATION, AND YOU THINK I'M CALLING BECAUSE I'M BORED?"

"Sir-"

"Look, listen. I don't know if you've heard of him, but the Broadshore Butcher? The guy who slaughtered dozens years ago? Yeah, he's BACK. He's already killed more than a fucking dozen, and if we don't get help soon everyone on the entire island will be dead by tomorrow afternoon!"

There was a long silence. Ruffy could hear whispers on the other end as dispatch conferred with another, possibly her supervisor. Then another voice came on the phone, this one deeper, male.

"Mr. Ruffy, are you sure it's the same guy who's responsible for all those murders years ago?"

"I have never been so sure of anything in my life."

"… We'll send a team as soon as we can."

Relief washed over Ruffy as he blabbed thanks before hanging up. He stood against the control panel for a good minute, all sorts of feelings flowing through him. Him and DJ did it. They succeeded.

Sure, his head was hurting, but help was on it's way.

* * *

Toothy watched from the shadows as Petunia eased her door open and tip-tied out, glancing back and forth.

He gripped the handle of his knife firmly, and when she least expected it, he dashed out, sprinting silently towards her and tackling her to the floor.

Toothy quickly clasped his hand around her mouth and held the knife to her throat.

"Sssh." He whispered, jabbing the tip of the knife against her soft , delicate fur. Petunia uttered a terrified squeak, and it took all of Toothy's willpower not to bounce with glee.

_Click._

Something hard and firm was now pressed to the side of Toothy's head.

"Don't move." A voice said, one Toothy instantly recognized as that police officer, Rager.

Toothy squeezed his eyes shut, swearing in his head, and released his grip on the knife. It clattered to the floor as Rager roughly seized him by the arm, threw him off of Petunia with ease, and pointed his police-issue pistol between Toothy's eyes.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't pull the trigger and end your sorry ass now, bitch." Rager snarled.

"I… uh…" Toothy stuttered, feeling his plan falling to shit before his eyes.

"Wrong answer!" Rager's finger began to squeeze the trigger.

"Wait! NO!" Toothy cried, eyes widening. "Don't shoot! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T SHOOT!"

"What the hell is going on out here?" Flippy's voice asked, as he poked his head out the doorway. He paused, upon taking the scene in. Rager, holding a firearm against Toothy's head. Toothy, on his back on the floor, pleading with Rager not to shoot. And Petunia, lying against the wall, dazed and confused.

"Flippy! Tell him not to shoot!" Toothy begged, seeing Flippy just in the doorway.

"Don't listen to him, he was just about to attack P… P…" Rager paused, turning to the crouching skunk. "What was your name again sorry?"

"Petunia."

"Petunia! He was about to attack Petunia!"

"NO!" Toothy shook his head madly, denying. "He's insane, Flippy, I'm your friend, we've been friends for years, you know me, I wouldn't do this sort of thing, I-"

"He's right, Flippy." A calm voice struck out, silencing all the desperate ones with an instant. Giggles approached the downed Toothy, standing above him as she looked into his deep violet eyes. "He's exactly right."

"See! See!" Toothy said, smile a relieved smile. "See, Giggles knows me, she kn-"

"Not you." Giggles interrupted, and nodded at Rager. "Him."

The smile vanished from Toothy's face like a light going out.

"I hoped I was wrong." Giggles mused. "I hoped that the person I grew up with whom I considered to be one of my closest friends wouldn't, couldn't even consider being associated with… this sort of thing."

"Ohhh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…" Toothy shook his head rapidly as Rager once again lowered the gun to his forehead.

"Toothy, you are under arrest." Rager said, brandishing a pair of handcuffs. "Once Ruffy manages to fix the satellite, you'll be off to court."

As if on cue, Rager's walkie-talkie screeched. _"Rager? Rager, it's Ruffy. We fixed the satilitte. We've got the word out. Help will be here by tomorrow afternoon at the latest."_

"Speak of the devil." Rager noted, passing the handcuffs to Flippy while he scrambled for his radio. "Ruffy, Rager here. Message received. Good work, I'm proud of you. Meet me at the station as soon as possible."

"_Yes, sir. On my way, sir."_

Rager hung up, then turned to Flippy, who had just finished putting the cuffs on Toothy. "I'm going down to meet Ruffy at the station. Keep him," – he pointed at Toothy – "somewhere you can keep any eye on him. Got it?"

"Sure."

Rager saluted.

Flippy saluted back.

And then Rager was gone, marching down the stairs, his footsteps echoing away.

* * *

DJ paced back and forth as far as the chain would let him, his mind going overtime as he pondered his situation, his possible games, his entire fucking life being a complete mistake over and over again, and then going back to the situation. It was a terrible thought process and thing to do, but there wasn't much else he could do while he waited for that amateuristic beast of a man to come down and calmly explain how he was going to die.

DJ glanced at the thinly-plated windows, only barely keeping back the massive weight of the sea, and he shivered.

Of all places, why here…

The door, the only exit from this cold dungeon, creaked as gears and valves turned, and it slowly drifted open. DJ slowed his pacing, coming to a halt as the Broadshore Butcher stepped inside.

"Didn't keep you waiting too long, I hope." The Butcher said. "Some of these inner mechanics haven't been properly used in years. Matter of fact, I think we're the first ones to even visit this place in, oh, about five years or so."

"Oh, fantastic, something they can put on my gravestone." DJ snarked, silently studying the Butcher carefully. He looked familiar, but how?

"Can you imagine it, young Desmond? 'Here lies DK: Died cold… alone… begging for mercy… but did visit the Broadshore Aquarium, so his life wasn't completely worthless.'"

DJ winched. "The name's DJ."

"I know what your name is, trust me. I know all about you, Desmond Julian Jazed."

DJ froze, his mind suddenly gone blank. "I-"

"Why do you think I chose this place as your resting ground? Not because of the scenery, I'll tell you that. But because I know this sort of place scares the living daylights out of you. And, trust me, after everything you've done, I want to you be scared."

"Everything I've done? Like what?" DJ demanded, then paused, thinking. "… Did I kill one of your relatives? Because I may have infact done that. I don't recall names well."

"No," The Butcher shook his head. "I mean your constant attempts at simply failing to die. Remember back when Lumpy exploded? You were supposed to die in that blast. That bomb had your name on it, Desmond. And yet, here you stand. A living, breathing constant remainder of my mistake at failing to make sure you were dead. I don't like making mistakes."

DJ would be lying if he said he wasn't a little bit creeped out. He took a step back, his body pressing against the steel wall as the Butcher stared him down. The Butcher fished around in his pockets, before producing a small silver key and tossing it at DJ's feet. "That's the key to your chain. Use it." He ordered.

DJ glanced at the key, then back at the Butcher. Keeping his eyes locked on with the serial killer, he slowly knelt down, grabbed the key, and unlocked the heavy steel chain keeping him to the spot. The chain fell to the floor with a loud 'clang', and DJ stood, eyeing his killer suspiciously.

"Before I kill you, I want you to understand how insignifigant you are. How you are completely and utterly worthless. How everything you'e ever done, you've done it wrong."

DJ began to stutter, then shook his head. "S-shut up. You're wrong, you don't... Just get on with it. What's this game of yours?"

"Oh, about that." The Butcher chuckled, stepping forward. "On the way down, I had an epithany. Fuck the game, it'll be more pleasureable to kill you by my own hand." Then, quick as a flash, The Butcher had swung out with a clenched fist and punched DJ hard in the ribs.

DJ felt something crack as he doubled over, gasping in pain. He didn't have much time to process what just happened as The Butcher's knee smashed into his face. DJ stumbled backwards, falling on his behind and holding a hand against his mouth. Already he could feel blood beginning to swell inside his mouth. He looked back at the Butcher in time to recieve a vengeful kick to the chin, which sent him rolling across the floor and tumbling against a thin, metal toolbox.

"I've been waiting so long to do this..." The Butcher breathed, a smile drawn across his face. "It's a shame I can only do this once."

As The Butcher stepped forward, DJ suddenly struck out, swinging the metal toolbox wildly and catching his killer across the face with it. The toolbox clattered to the ground as The Butcher stumbled, spilling open an array of maintinence items, such as a screwdriver, wrench, and a bright red flare gun. Seeing the Butcher grasp the flare gun in one hand, DJ grabbed the closest item - in this case the wrench - and swung, striking The Butcher's hand as he tried to aim the flare gun at the defending cat. The flare gun clattered across the room, sliding to a halt near DJ's chains. The Butcher hissed, clutching at his bruised hand. DJ, for his part, stumbled sideways, the swing of the wrench heavier than expected. The Butcher recovered quickly, striding to DJ and landing a sick uppercut on the feline's chin. Seeing stars, DJ could only gasp in discomfort as The Butcher grabbed him by the throat and lifted him clear off the ground.

Eye to eye with the bigger and more deadly person, DJ struggled futilely. The Butcher's eyes were full of burning hate, pure unadulterated rage, and DJ was the focus of his attention. Things did not look good at all.

"You..." The Butcher breathed, his chest heaving up and down. "You... die... now!"

With that note, he threw DJ back first against the thin, glass wall. DJ felt his breath leave him as his chest was momentarily crushed by the sheer force of the throw, before the worst possible sound reached his ears.

The slow, ominous cracking of glass.

DJ's view snapped up, at the spot where his body had hit the glass window. A spider-web of strained, crackling glass spread across the pane, more votile than ever. DJ shivered, crawling away from the quickly-growing danger as his fear grew tenfold, before his side suddenly exploded in pain as The Butched delivered a swift boot to DJ's ribs. DJ let out a weak gasp of pain, collapsing to the floor as The Butcher stood above him.

"You're scared, aren't you?" The Butcher grinned. "Good. You should be. Now, I am going to walk out the door, close it, lock it, and watch as those windows break and you drown beneath the weight of the ocean. Is there anything you'd like to say before I go?"

DJ murmered something intelligeable.

"Sorry, I didn't quite catch that." The Butcher mocked, leaning closer. "Could you repeat that?"

DJ looked into the Butcher's eyes, his irises trembling. "Fuck you." And he spat into The Butcher's face.

It took a second for The Butcher to realize what just happened. When he did, he was pissed. Grunting in anger, The Butcher unloaded a hard punch into DJ's head, the sound of it rebounding against the floor being music to his ears. He did it again, DJ's cries of pain akin to angels singing.

When he tried to do it a third time, however, DJ somehow intercepted it with his hands, just barely stopping the blow. Then before The Butcher could react, a pair of handcuffs was wrapped around his wrist, locking shut with a loud 'click.'

The Butcher's eyes followed the chain back to the wall, and grimly realized he was now chained to the wall in the exact spot DJ had been chained to minutes ago.

The son of a bitch had outsmarted him.

He snapped his attention back to the english cat, who had moved just barely out of reach. DJ slowly, but surely, crawled to his feet, and looked back at his would-be killer with a tired, accomplished look.

"If there's good one thing I'll do right in my life..." DJ breathed, winching with every breath. "It'll be killing you, you murderous fuck."

And DJ turned around, limping towards the only exit out of here, gasping in pain every two steps.

"Desmond."

DJ continued onward.

"Desmond Julian Jazed! Unless you want to die you will stop right now!"

DJ chuckled slightly, only steps away from the door, when-

_BANG._

DJ gasped as he felt something hard and fast stab him in the small of his back, before a firey burn spread across his spine. Silently screaming, DJ collapsed to his knees, rolling onto his side as he breathed in pain.

The Butcher stood, holding the bright red flare gun in his free hand.

"You... You shot me with a flare gun?" DJ spoke in disbelief.

The Butcher nodded, tossed the now-empty flare gun to the floor, before gripping the chain with both hands. As DJ watched in disbelief, the Butcher roared, pulled with all his might and-

_SNAP._

The chain broke. The Butcher dangled the chain before his eyes, before laughing and walking purposely across the room.

"That's... that's not fair." DJ muttered, watching as the Butcher approached.

"Who said I was a fair person?" The killer replied, stepping over the bloodied DJ's body as he stepped through the door and only exit, slamming it behind him. The rumbling click echoed as the door was locked.

DJ looked at the locked door, so close yet so far, and back at the windows, so close to beaking he could feel it.

Shaking his head in defeat and fear, with tears in his eyes and a flare burning through his spine, DJ rested his head on the cold steel floor and closed his eyes as the windows finally gave way under the pressure and exploded, letting in the vast weight of the ocean.

Desmond Julian Jazed, more commonly known as DJ, was never seen again.


	30. Savior

I'm glad I caused a stir in the reviews. It seems most of you are surprised that I killed off DJ. Whether it's because he's my only OC or because he's somehow popular with you guys, he had to die. Firstly because there wasn't really much other way that chapter could end. Secondly because, as the stories representation of me, him dying horribly was my way for apoligising for not updating anytime soon.

Beside, he was never going to last another few chapters anway...

Speaking of which, there's not a lot of chapters left, only five-ish. I've already decided on who may die and who may live, as well as a concrete ending that I feel will wrap up the story as best as I believe it can, as opposed to my other two ending ideas that didn't fit the tone of the story quite as well.

Oh, and major announcement:

At the conclusion of the story I will be having a 'Q & A with the Author' session over on my DeviantArt page. If any of you have questions pertaining to the story, me, future stories, or just questions in general, I encourage you to send them via Private Message to me on FanFiction or DeviantArt, and the day the final chapter of Bloody Vengence is posted I will post the full Q & A on my DeviantArt Journal.

With all the announcements out of the way, let's get on with chapter thirty of Bloody Vengence: Savior.

* * *

_Oh, the look on Desmond's face when he watched me rip the chain the wall. A look of broken despair, lost hope. So pitiful. I think it was that moment when he realized exactly how screwed he was. Maybe he just gave up there and then, or maybe he just found it too painful to move after being shot in the spine with a flare gun. Either way, he barely attemped to stop me as I sauntered past him and to safety, shutting the door behind myself with a tantilizing click._

_Through the small port-hole in the door, I watched as Desmond gazed at the growing weaker windows, his death only seconds away. His eyes trembled, giving away how frightened he was, but aside from that he had resigned to perhaps the most terrifying fate once can think of: He was going to die and there is nothing he can do to stop it._

_An instant later the windows finally gave way beneath the tremendous weight of the ocean, gallons upon gallons of sea water pouring inside the room, filling it in seconds. Desmond quickly disappeared in the watery torrent, the sheer force of the crashing waves sweeping him out of my view in the blink of an eye._

_His body never appeared again, forever lost beneath the icey waves._

_I chuckled to myself as I ascended up the stairs towards the surface. Was there ever any doubt? Of course not. Doubt leads to failure, and I don't fail._

_I checked the wall-hanging clock as I passed the reception. About 1:20am, give or take. As I stepped outside into the cool morning air, I wondered how much Toothy had accomplished. Now, that's an eager beaver if I've ever seen one. Spades, on the other hand, well... Frankly I wouldn't be too surprised if he had already tried to leave the Island already._

_I say 'tried' because there is no leaving this Island alive._

_It's a good ten-ish minute walk to the hospital, and to a lesser extend my hideaway, but times passes quickly when you're thinking, as I soon found out. I slowed as the large, faded-grey walls of the hospital entered my view, and noticed that despite the early hour several light were still shining from several rooms. Maybe they had someone stand guard... Yes, that would almost be a certainty. Probably Flippy, that psychotic hypocritical freak. He'd be a challenge. But I like a challenge._

_The doors to the hospital suddenly swished open, and I ducked behind the bushes as one of those wrenched police officers stepped out. That Rager one, smirking proudly as talked into his police radio._

_"-We've got a breakthrough, Ruffy." He was saying, unaware of my watchful gaze. "A serious, real, 100% breakthrough!"_

_Well, Ruffy was apperantly still alive. How bout that._

_"No, I'm not kidding. Look, where are you right now? ... Still at the satillite radio tower? Okay, meet me at the precint as soon as possible. We have SO MANY things to discuss." Rager clipped his walkie-talkie back to his belt as he approached his blue and white police cruiser, stepping into the drivers seat and speeding away into the night seconds later._

_I watched him dissappear from view, then turned back to the hospital. Toothy would probably be wanting me... Well, he waited about six hours, he can wait another._

_I turned around and began striding down the road. If I time it well, I can meet Ruffy halfway through._

* * *

The clock ticked over to 1:23 in the cold hours of the morning as Flippy poured himself a cup of lukewarm coffee, sipping at the dry taste as he watched the motionless form of Toothy sit in the hallway, one hand handcuffed to a janitor's room door handle. Since Rager had left about five minutes ago, Toothy had done little more than remain silent and still, barely resiting when Flippy roughly grabbed him by the wrist and handcuffed him. He could easily pass as someone who was asleep, if it weren't for his unblinking eyes, staring into space as Flippy watched from afar.

Flippy didn't know the purple beaver as well as the others, but he always struck him as nothing special. It was hard to remember Toothy at times, to be honest. Nothing stood out about him. Which made this whole situation just that bit more unbelieveable.

"I don't understand." Petunia said, standing beside the army vet. "I've known Toothy for years, since we were kids... And I never once ever considered that he could be... I don't understand."

Flippy handed her his coffee. "I don't know myself, Petunia. Then again I barely know Toothy that well too. Rager said last night anyone can be a killer, given the circumstances... I suppose Toothy found his circumstances."

Petunia took a sip of the coffee, and frowned in distaste. "But what-"

"Petunia, I barely know the guy. I know nothing about him. He could be the son of the pope for all I know."

"Right, right, sorry... Should I go ask him why, you think?"

"Are you insane?" Flippy questioned, quirking an eyebrow. "The man was on the verge of killing you before Rager intervened. Petunia, I'd advise you not to go anywhere near him. Don't look at him, don't talk to him, don't even think of him. Just avoid him."

"Then what am I supposed to do?"

"Go back to bed, Petunia." Flippy sternly ordered, taking back the mug of coffee. "If he's got a reason, I'll get it out of him."

"Flippy-" Petunia began to protest, when Flippy cut her off with a cold stare.

"That's an order, Petunia. Go." Flippy repeated. For a split second, his eyes flashed a bright yellow, before he shook the illusion away with a shake of his head. Petunia sighed in defeat, retreating to her room as Flippy watched her go.

In the hallway, a handcuffed Toothy looked up at Petunia as she disappeared into her room, and waved with his free hand.

* * *

After checking the radio equipment one last time time make sure it was all perfect, Officer Ruffy of the Broadshore Island Police Force took a final look around the radio tower. He wasn't exactly sure what had transpired during the time he had been K.O'd and when he had awoken, but clearly it was violent. Regardless, the important thing was that he had contacted the mainland, and help was on it's way. Still no sign of DJ... Eh, he's probably back at the hospital. With a dismissive shrug, Ruffy exited the building into the cold morning air. He quickly hurried to his police cruiser, ducking inside and switching on the heater immediately. The weather had turned cold and stormy quite suddenly, and by this rate there would be severe thunderstorms by midday, according to the weather report Ruffy had glanced at earlier. Switching on the ignotion, Ruffy began to drive down the dirt road. Squinting through the darkness, he turned on the high beams as the weather worsened, and by the time he had reached the main road it had begun to rain, heavy wet drops striking the windshield of the cruiser with a loud pitter-pattering.

It was at that precise moment that a lone body darted out from the darkness, and before Ruffy could comprehend so the cruiser had already struck him, the large figure smacking against the windshield and tumbling over the car roof as Ruffy stamped on the brakes. Silently swearing to himself, Ruffy checked his rearview mirror, noting the motionless aqua body of his unfortunate victim, and frowned. With a regretful look at the pouring rain, Ruffy stepped out of his car, grabbing his flashlight as he did so, and approached the downed body.

"You alright, mate?" Ruffy asked, struggling to shout over the loud weather.

A exasperated groan answered him, sounding almost like 'Not again.'

Kneeling down next to him, Ruffy quickly checked the person for any obvious signs of injury, before realizing how familliar this person was. "Hey, didn't you-"

A hand suddenly thrust out and grabbed Ruffy by the throat. Ruffy let out a small 'urk' sound as the being he had hit sat up, frowning.

"Give me your radio." He demanded

"But-" Ruffy faltered.

"Give. Me. Your. Radio." The man repeated, vemon in his voice.

* * *

Flippy paced back and forth, eyeing Toothy viciously. The purple beaver, for his part, remained silent, motionless, as Flippy came to a halt before him. Studying the beaver with a watchful gaze, Flippy felt a dark stirring in the back of his head. They wanted answers, and the key to a good deal of answers sat before him, handcuffed to a door handle. The Darkness inside him stirred, eager to extract information the way they did in the war.

Instead, Flippy stood firm and crisp. "Start talking." He ordered.

Toothy didn't even blink.

"Toothy, is it? Toothy, if you value your health, you'd best start talking."

Toothy barely moved.

Flippy frowned in irritation, and knelt down until he was eye-level with his quiet companion. "Who's the one behind all this? Behind all these killings? Because I know you are not alone in this. Who's your master?"

Finally, Toothy showed signs of life, tilting his head to the left slightly.

Flippy's eyes narrowed. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"Of course I do." Toothy spoke, almost making Flippy jump with surprise. "You're Fernando Henderfield, more commonly known as 'Flippy'. Born in 1968. Enlisted in the Great War of '94, where you served your country with honors, and ascended to senior sargent of the HT Army Corps. You performed your duties with pride, until the Battle of Mount Mondo made you go nuts. From that point on you were a liabiltity, a danger to those around you, and you were soon deemed mentally unstable due to having increasingly violent attacks on those around you at the smallest of reasons. Eventually you were dishonorably discharged and sent into psychiatric care. After a decade of therapy and pills, you were deemed sane and finally allowed back into the real world, where you settled into HT Town. You met Flaky some time after, got together, and was planning to propose to her during the cruise trip. I know all about you, Flippy. I was taught EVERYTHING about you. You even trained that supposed 'Evil' side of yours into submission. You're a big softie nowadays, who wouldn't even hurt a fly, so don't try to make empty threats against me, Flippy, because I know you don't mean them."

Flippy was momentarily speechless, as Toothy smugly grinned.

Then Flippy punched Toothy squarely in the nose. Toothy let out a yelp, his free hand indistictively going to his bloodied nose, and an instant later the cold blade of a bowie knife was pressed up against his throat. "You listen here, you smart-ass son of a bitch, and you listen good. If you do not tell me what I want to know by the count of three you'll be finding out exactly what the true meaning of pain is."

"Flippy-"

"I'm not Flippy, and I've not been trained into submission." Flippy breathed, tightening his grip on the knife's handle. "You have three seconds. One."

Toothy's eyes stared into Flippys, alert and scared.

"Two."

Flippy stared back with cold, yellow eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?!"At the sound of a new voice, Evil snapped towards the doorway, where Giggles stood, shocked.

"I..." Flippy stuttered, his eyes snapping back to their usual dull green. He realized the position he was in, him holding the knife against Toothy's throat, and leapt backwards, dropping the knife. "I don't know... I blacked out for a minute, and..."

"Flippy, your eyes were yellow."

Flippy visibly paled. "Oh god..." He softly repeated his setiments as he put his face in his hands, backing up against the wall.

Unsure of what to say, Giggles glanced over at Toothy, frozen to the spot with blood slowly dripping out of his possibly broken nose, and awkwardly sighed. "Maybe you should go have some rest..." She suggested.

"Yeah... Maybe I should..." Flippy agreed, all-to aware that his extreme lack of sleep may have had a part in this. He slowly stepped away, glancing back at Toothy for a split second, noting the fear scarred across his being, before ducking into the rest room he shared with Flaky.

* * *

Rager paced back and forth in the police station, checking the clock hung up on the wall every so often. By now, it was nearing 1:40am. What was taking Ruffy so damned long? The radio tower isn't that far away. If anything he should've beaten Rager here. Maybe the weather was taking it's toll on the travel, Rager himself nearly got stuck in mud several times on the drive here.

His walkie-talkie buzzed unexpectedly.

Rager blinked, before snatching the walkie-talkie and answering it. "Ruffy, where the hell are you? I'm waiting!"

_"Ruffy?"_ An unfamilliar voice answered. _"I'm not Ruffy. Ruffy's here, but he's not really in the mood to talk."_

Rager paused, confused. "Who the hell is this?" He demanded.

_"Who do you think, Rager?"_ The voice replied condensendingly.

Suddenly, it clicked inside his head. "... You."

_"Me!"_ The Broadshore Butcher replied, cheerfully. _"Score ten points for Officer Rager."_

"What have you done to Ruffy?!"

_"He's a little... tied up at the moment."_

"... That is a horrible pun." Rager said in disgust.

_"I know, I think part of me shriveled and died when I said it... Hmmm? Oh, Ruffy wants the radio. Say hello, Ruffy."_ Another voice, that of Ruffy, entered the fray, this one loud and terrified. _"Rager! Oh god, help me! He got me during the thunderstorms, and-" "That's enough, Ruffy, don't bore our guest."_ The Butcher's voice interrupted.

"Where are you, you sick fuck?" Rager questioned, glancing at the map of sercurity cameras.

_"If you're looking at your wall of cameras, Officer, you won't find me on there. I can only be found in your darkest dreams and your numerous nightmares."_

"Very funny. Where are you in real life, you fucking sociopath?"

_"Sociopath? Huh. Haven't heard that one in a while."_

"Answer me!"

_"Hmmm, no. Say Rager, you even seen that movie Reservoir Dogs?"_

There was a breif pause as Rager blinked. "What?"

_"You know, the Quentin Taratino debut film, Reservoir Dogs? One of my personal favourites."_

"Where are you going with this?" Rager demanded, not sure why he was discussing movies at this moment in time.

_"There's a scene midway through the film where one of the characters, the big psycotic Mr. Blonde fellow, has a cop tied up and at his mercy. And because he's bored, he decides to cut off one of the copper's ears."_ The Butcher explained condensendingly.

"You harm a hair on Ruffy's head and there will be hell to pay, you son of a bitch, you hear me?" Rager said, the killer's implication not escaping him. "Hell. To. Pay."

_"Somehow, I doubt that. Now, Ruffy, be a good boy and tilt your head sideways a bit, would you?"_

Rager opened his mouth to protest with a threat, but before he could even get the first syllable out Ruffy's pained screaming blasted out from the walkie-talkie, loud enough to even envoke static. Even more chilling, the scraping sound of flesh being slowly torn apart could be heard below Ruffy's cries.

_"And, there we go!"_ The Butcher radioed cheerfully. _"One freshly sliced ear, graciously donated on behalf of Officer Ruffy."_

Rager grimaced, still hearing the pained gasps of Ruffy in the background. "You sick, sick bastard..."

_"Yes, yes, I'm a horrible person, we know. Question is, what are YOU going to do about it, Officer Rager?"_

"I'm going to make damn sure you rot in a cell for the rest of your life, you-"

_"Really?"_ The Butcher interrupting, mock evident in his voice._ "Well, Ruffy here has politely informed me that he has somehow fixed the sattillite radio and called for assistance. Looks like you could get some retribution quicker than before. And I have to admit, I don't like that idea. So, here's the plan. You, Officer Rager, will call up your offshore buddies, and tell them that Ruffy's call was nothing more than a joke, a drunken prank, whatever you wish to call it. In return, I will not harm Ruffy any further. Sounds like a fair bargain, what do you say?"_

There was a long pause, the words not entirely registering in Rager's mind as the metaphorical gears came to a screeching halt. "... What?"

_"You call off your offshore buddies, and I'll let Ruffy go, alive and unharmed. Well, unharmed apart from his ear, I'll be keeping that, but you understand, right?"_

"... Let me talk to Ruffy."

_"Sorry?"_

"Ruffy, I want to talk to him."

_"Really? The guy's not that good a conversationalist, all he does is scream and make death threats at me. Kinda like you."_

"Put Ruffy on now."

_"Alright, jeez."_ There was the sound of the radio being transferred from one being to another, then Ruffy's voice came on, pained and scared. _"R-Rager?"_

"You okay Ruffy?" Rager asked, in concern over the wellbeing of his fellow officer.

_"I'm... I'm f-fine."_ Despite putting on a brave tone, it was still clear Ruffy was hurting.

"You heard his offer?"

_"Y-yeah... Yeah, I heard it..."_

"What do you think of it?"

_"Don't... Don't listen to him, Rager..."_ Ruffy begged. _"I think he's going to k-k-kill me no matter what choice you make."_

"I can't just let you die!" Rager argued, outraged over such a decision.

_"B-But you can't let him win, sir."_ Ruffy pointed out, and Rager faltered.

"Ruffy..."

_"Sir, you've dedicated your entire life to hunting down this guy and seeing him rot in jail. Don't throw away the best chance we have."_ Ruffy pleaded.

Rager looked around the police station, primarily at the photo hanging of the Broadshore Island Police Force, him, Ruffy, Oscar, and Crack, all celebrating New Year's Eve last year. The foursome all had their arms around another's shoulders as fireworks exploded behind them, and even the normally dry Rager was smiling then. "It's been an honor to work with you, Ruffy. I'll always consider you a good friend." Rager finally said after a lengthy silence, the uncomfortable feeling of a lump being stuck in his throat appearing as he breathed.

_"T-thank you, sir."_ Ruffy replied, and once again the sounds of a radio being passed to another was made, before The Butcher came back online. _"So have you two reached a decision yet?"_

"We have. We decided that you're going to rot in hell."

_"Tsk. You know that Ruffy has to die now?"_

"Yes... Yes I do." Rager replied, a single, solitary tear slowly drifting down his cheek. "We are not letting you get away with anything."

_"Suit yourself."_ Rager closed his eyes, willing himself to turn off the walkie-talkie now, but his body didn't respond. Suddenly there was a sharp snapping sound, and he knew with that sound that Ruffy was gone.

_"Ruffy's dead now, Officer Rager. His neck snapped like a twig. How do you feel?"_

Rager opened his eyes, his pupils now a deep red as he spoke, malice and revenge hanging on every word. "I am going to do everything in my power to find you. I will hunt you down and hurt you in so many different ways before backup gets here. You'll have no-one to blame but yourself, you pathetic cunt, and you'll be begging for mercy by the time I'm done. "

_"... We'll see."_ The Butcher responded, then hung up.


	31. The Lone Officer

Hey, look. A chapter, late again.

Not to worry, it'll be over soon enough. Three chapters left. Maybe four if I consider doing an epilogue.

Right, let's get on with it. This is for you, Ghost. Bloody Vengence, Chapter 31: The Lone Officer

* * *

As the clock slowly ticked over to three in the morning, the last remaining officer of the Broadshore Island police force stood witin the police station sat at his desk, overlooking several transcripts of information on the police computer files. Dark thunder clouds stormed outside, rain avalanching down with lightening flashing with each passing minute as Rager scanned through one report after the other, the dull feel of a headache slowly forming within his mind as he flickered through the pages.

The files were extensive: The killer's deeds had run for a good long time. More than half the files on the computer system were in some way, shape, or form, connected to the Broadshore Butcher. Victims, methods, theories, anything and everything. No scrap of information, no matter how distrustful the source was, was abandoned. It would stand to reason that at least 40% of the information catalogued in the archives were fictionous, but as time went by police had gotten more desperate in apprehanding this induvidual and widened the bounds, so to speak. Someone in these files there was a fourteen-page report about the killer being a renagade Time Lord. Other notable entires included the speculation that the killer was a cyborg 'correcting' the island, or an evil batman, or at worst a focused Charlie Sheen and at best a disgruntled fanfic author. The list went on, the theories getting more and more outlandish as time passed. They were good for a laugh some of the time, but Rager had been considering deleting most of it off the system. There was a time and place for this stuff. The only thing stopping him was the fact that he needed the mainland's authorization to do so. And all that paperwork... Brrr.

Rager's hand drifted aimlessly through the word documents, at one point clicking on the Internet Explorer icon hopefully, only to get the familliar error message. Honestly, this place needed better internet connections. Rager glanced around the room, his eyes resting on a portrait of the Police Force, taken on New Year's a few years ago. Oscar and Ruffy were dancing around drunkenly, while Crack was - rather unsucessfully, might I add - flirting with a civillian. Where was Rager, you ask? Doing whisky shots in the background, knowing that this would be a night the police force would either look back and laugh at or really regret. Most likely the latter. Rager stared at the large picture, not even noticing a single tear falling down his face, until it popped against his hand. Tearing his eyes away from the photo, Rager wiped his eyes with a nearby handerchief, breathing out despair. He glanced at the screen, and noted with dim surprise that he had loaded up the 'Confirmed Victims' document, a document that was already unsettlingly too long. He scrolled to the end of the list, placed his fingers on the keyboard, and slowly, methodically, typed.

_**Name: **__Crack  
__**Occupation: **__Broadshore Island Police Officer  
__**Cause of death: **__Beheading  
__**Comments: **__Died with honors_

_**Name: **__Oscar  
__**Occupation: **__Broadshore Island Police Officer  
__**Cause of death: **__Gunshot wound  
__**Comments: **__Died with honors_

_**Name:**__ Ruffy  
__**Occupation: **__Broadshore Island Police Officer  
__**Cause of death: **__Broken neck  
__**Comments:**__ Died with honors_

The transmitter beside him buzzed. Immediately, Rager swept the radio into his free hand, answering it with a half-hearted "Officer Rager of the Broadshore Island Police Force." Some force, he's the only one left...

_"Officer Rager, this is Leiutenant Julian Felon on the mainland. How are you holding up?"_

"Horribly, Leiutenant."

_"I'm sorry to hear that, Rager, really I am. Just checking, how many survivors are there, including you and your local police force?"_

"Last time I checked, about... Seven."

_"... I beg your pardon?"_

"Seven. Four civillians, at least two killers, and the entire surviving Broadshore Police Force, ie me."

_"You're the only officer left? What happened to Ruffy, Oscar, Crack?"_

"He's... gone."

_"Oh... You have my condolences."_

"Thanks."

_"That being said, I have some bad news. Concerning reinforcements... Due to the thick weather and the windy seas, neither helicopter nor motorboat will be able to leave the mainland and reach you until six am."_

"Six am?!" Rager exclaimed, practically leaping out of his seat.

_"That's only three hours, sir. You can last til then, right?"_

"Three hours? More then eighty people have died in the last three days alone!"

_"And I'm very sorry to hear that, I truly am, but until the weather subsides there's nothing we can do. Trust me, Rager, the second the weather clears we'll disembark, but until then you'll just have to wait it out."_

"Alright. Fine. I'll get the civillians to a safe haven and wait for you guys."

_"Good luck, Officer Rager. We'll be on our way as soon as possible."_

With that note, the call ended. Rager very nearly threw the phone against the wall with barely-concealed rage, before thinking better of it and instead tucking the radio into his pants pocket. He took a final glance at the recently-edited Victim's List, before saing and closing the document. He glanced one final time at the clock, before grabbing a jacket and throwing it over his shoudlers, exiting the police station with haste.

The clock ticked over to 3:15am.

One way or another, this nightmare would end by sunrise.

* * *

As Flippy retreated to bed, shutting the door quietly behind him, Giggles glanced over her shoulder at Toothy, sitting shell-shocked against the door, more than likely having come very close to fainting out of pure fear. Dismissing Toothy's condidtion, Giggles walked past Flippy & Flaky's room to the next, knocking quietly against the door frame. The door creaked open slowly, as Petunia stuck her head out in confusion.

"Hi, Giggles. What's up?" Petunia mumbled, fighting back a tired yawn.

"Flippy tried to get some answers out of Toothy." Giggles explained.

Petunia raised an eyebrow. "What'd he find out?"

"Nothing. He nearly flipped out and murdered Toothy."

Petunia groaned. "I shouldn't be surprised, something like this was bound to happen sooner or later."

"I know. Look, it's obvious Toothy's not going to be able to tell Flippy anything now. And you did want to ask Toothy some questions yourself earlier, so if you want, now's your chance."

"Why can't you ask him yourself?" Petunia pointed out.

Giggles merely crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.

"Fair point. Alright, I'll see what I can find out. Wish me luck."

Giggles nodded, and Petunia brushed part her into the hallways. Her nerves bundling, she approached the handcuffed Toothy with mild unease, remembering how very close he came to slitting her throat and doing god-knows what else. Hearing her footsteps, Toothy glanced at her, his neutral expression turning into a grin. Petunia shuddered involuntarily.

"Hey... Toothy." Petunia said, forcing a smile onto her features. "How you doing?"

"Been better." Toothy remarked, glancing at his handcuffed wrist. "Though, all things considered, it could be worse."

"It... sure could." Petunia said, sitting herself down opposite Toothy. It dwelled upon her that, despite longing to find out why Toothy had tried to kill her, she hadn't made a definative plan of figuring that out. "Toothy, we need to talk..." Good start. Let's try some subtlety.

Toothy frowned. "Do we need to? Why can't we just sit here and enjoy each other's company?"

"Well, not to be blunt, but an hour ago you tried to kill me." Petunia pointed out. So much for subtlety.

Toothy blinked, rubbing the back of his head akwardly."Oh yeah, that."

"Look, Toothy, we've known each other for years. Hell, we went to the same schools and were friends for a long time."

"We... We were friends?" Toothy raised an eyebrow, surprise evident in his voice.

"We hung out together, didn't we? You, me, Cuddles, and Giggles. We helped each other through school, remember?"

"I... suppose we did. R... Remember our grade five science experiment? We accientally flooded the entire gymnasium!"

"Mr. Mondo was so mad! His face was so red I though he was going to explode!"

"Hehe, yeah. Fun times, fun times..." Toothy trailed off, reminiscing. "Petunia, do you know who I am?"

"You're Toothy."

"Yes, but apart from that? I'm nothing. Nobody. No-one. Barely anyone knows me, remembers me. Everyone just... forgets. Every time, every day, without fail. I'm an afterthought, a footnote, treated like a godamned shadow!" A flash of anger swept across Toothy's features, and he elbowed the wall behind him in a short fit of rage.

The beaver was quiet for som seconds, facing the floor. Petunia bit he lip, considering whether to ask he if was okay, but Toothy's voice continued before she could.

"And..." He added, looking up. "And I was afraid. So, so afraid. I was... terrified, of being left behind, completely forgotten about. So when that... man came to me with an idea, to stamp my name forever into the history books, the ensure I would never be forgotten... I made a choice. If this is how people will remember me, so be it."

Petunia blinked. "But... But that's insane!" She protested. "Agreeing to flat-out murder a dozen of your closest friends, because you didn't want to be forgotten? That's just wrong!"

"Oh, of course YOU would say that!" Toothy snapped, and Petunia took an involuntary step back from the outburst. "Little miss popular, everybody likes you! No-one ever forgets about you, you're always top of the list! You're not always forced into the background, overlooked, or forgotten! Meanwhile over here they can barely recall my name, let alone my birthday or anything about me!"

Shaking with rage, Toothy fell silent, gritting his teeth. A lengthy silence reigned, until Petunia shifted forward.

"April 26th."

Toothy looked at her, raising an eyebrow.

"Your birthday, April 26." Petunia explained. "No matter what you think, Toothy, we don't forget about our friends. I'm sorry you've somehow turned into this murderous savage of a being, and you're just going to have to trust me when I say this, but you are our friend, and to us, you'll always be somebody. Especially to me."

With that note, Petunia enveloped the confused beaver with a reassuring hug.

After a moment of consideration, Toothy returned the hug.

* * *

With the rain thundering down on him, Rager stepped out the front door of the police station, one hand holding his treasured police hat to his head. He jogged to his police cruiser, wrenching the door open and ducking inside. Switching on the ignotion, he peered through the windscreen, and paused.

The car headlights illuminated a figure on the road.

Frowning, Rager grabbed a flashlight from his pocket and exited the vehicle. His free hand tapping against his holstered pistol, he flicked the torch on and steadily stepped forward.

"This is Officer Rager, of the Broadshore Island Police Force." He shouted above the wind. "Stay where you are!"

If the figure head any word of Rager's command, it showed no signs of hearing it.

Rager approached the figure, his frown growing as he came closer. Why wasn't it moving? Lightening flashed, breifly illuminating the area, and Rager froze.

The figure was the mangled corpse of Rufft, and he was not alone. On either side of Ruffy stood the headless Crack, and the bloodied Oscar, all strung up by on wooden cross each.

"Godamnit." Rager swore, fury fighting beneath his frame. "Killing them wasn't enough?! You had to desecrate their corpses too?!" He shouted, not even sure if the Butcher was still here to hear him. "If I find you before backup gets here there won't be anything left of you!"

"I doubt that."

Rager spun, unclasping his pistol and pointing it and the flashlight at the new voice.

From the shadows, another figure emerged. It's blue coat illuminated by the light, he stepped into the clearing and paused a few steps away from Rager.

"Nice night, isn't it?" The Broadshore Butcher noted.

"You shut your mouth and put your hands where I can see them!" Rager demanded.

"Yeah, no." The Butcher shook his head playfully, strolling from side to side as if he were on a sunday walk. "Do you like my art?" He asked, nodding at the corpses of Rager's three ex-co-workers.

"Art?" Rager repeated. "ART?! YOU CALL THAT SHIT ART, YOU MISERABLE FUCKER?! YOU SHUT YOUR MOUTH BEFORE I SHOOT YOU WHERE YOU STAND!"

"It must feel powering, doesn't it, to know that you personally sent each of your co-workers to their graves, both direct and indirectly."

"I'M WARNING YOU!"

"Let's recap; Crack died when I beheaded him, after YOU sent him to mount some cameras, and fat lot of good those did. Ruffy got his neck snapped when you refused to call off your backup. And Oscar, well... That was a fun night, wasn't it?"

Rager cocked the pistol. "LAST CHANCE! HANDS IN THE AIR!"

The Butcher scoffed. "Please. We both know you won't shoot me. It's against protocal."

Rager paused for a second. "Fuck protocal." He replied, and pulled the trigger.

The bullet missed by mere inches as the Butched indistinctivly ducked.

"First shot was a warning, second won't be."

"Alright, Rager, you've made your point." The Butched admitted, raising his hands. "I'll put my hands in the air. Perhaps I should wave them as if I didn't have any cares."

Something glinted in the flashlight's glow, and Rager tok a step forward. "What's that?" He demanded, shining the light at the Butcher's left hand.

"Oh, this?" The Butched looked at his hand, smirking. "It's nice, isn't it? A little failsafe I put together a few days ago." He shook the item in his grasp; a portable switch. "Once I press this button on top here, the second I let go, that hospital where all your friends are resting? It gets blow to shit, Rager! One wrong step, and there goes all your witnesses. So, here's the plan: You toss your gun over to me. I don't blow the hospital to kingdom come. We'll talk from there."

Rager stepped back. "You're bluffing!"

The Butcher raised an eyebrow. "Do you want to put that theory to the test? Throw that weapon over unless you want to see a marvellous fireworks display."

Rager wavered, considering, before sighing and throwing the gun at his nemisis. The lead weapon thudded against the ground before his enemy, who smiled. "That's good. A real breakthrough. You can tell your friends to evacuate that building if you want."

Wary, Rager reached for the portable radio clipped to his belt. "Flippy, it's Rager, you there?"

There was a breif silence before Flippy answered, in a voice that sounded sleepy and tired. _"Yeah. What is it?"_

"Get out of the building."

_"What?"_

"The hospital, it's primed to explode, get out of there!"

"That's enough." The Butched said, and Rager hung up before Flippy could reply. "Now that they're scared, it gets better." And he raised the hand containing the detonator in the air.

"You said you'd let then evacuate!" Rager shouted.

"No, I said you could TELL them to evacuate the building. Doesn't mean I'm letting them leave alive."

Rager charged, tackling down the Butcher, but it was too late.

The detonator beeped twice, and across the island, a loud bang echoed.

* * *

"Rager? Rager? SHIT!" Flippy sat up, jumping out of bed and quickly throwing on his army jacket. Beside him, Flaky yawned, and blinked.

"Flippy? What's wrong?" She asked, sleepily.

"We need to get out."

"Wha-why?" Suddenly aware of the panic on Flippy's face, Flaky felt more alert.

"Because it's wired to blow! We need to get out, NOW!" Flippy shouted, spurring Flaky into action. Grabbing her by the wrist, he led her out the door into the third-floor hallway, where Petunia sat next to Toothy, the two deep in some conversation. "Petunia, we have to go, where's Giggles?" Under other circumstances, Flippy probably would've chatcised Petunia for disobeying his orders and talking to Toothy, but recent events demanded more attention.

"What? She's down the hall, looking out the observatory window." Petunia answered, standing up.

"Giggles!" Flippy bellowed down the hall.

"What?" From a room at the end of the hall, Giggles answered, poking her head at the door. "What's happening?"

It was at that exact moment all hell broke loose.

An earsplitting BANG erupted from somewhere beneath the hopsital, and everyone fell to the floor as the ground shook beneath them. The floor cracked, splitting apart as explosions ravaged it within. The lights hanging from the cieling shook, the tension ripping them from their posts and they fell to the floor, shattering. Smoke began to fill the hallway, along with a fire alarm beeping from somewhere down the hall, as fire quickly crept through the hospital.

In no time at all, the entire ground floor was on fire.

Flippy got to his feet, shaking. "Everyone alright? Flaky? Petunia?"

"I... I'm okay. I think." Flaky replied as Flippy helped her up, a hand against her head. "One-one of the lights must've hit me when it fell."

"Let me look." Flippy said, brushing Flaky's hair out of the way so he could asess the damage. A particularly nash gash was split across Flaky's forehead, a steady stread of blood pouring out of it.

"It's not too bad, is it?" Flaky asked, immediately before fainting. Flippy caught her, and heaved her onto his shoulder. "Not good, not good. Petunia?"

"I'm fine, if shaken." Petunia replied, before turning to Toothy. "Toothy, you okay?"

"Y... Yeah. I'm fine."

Flippy frowned, before glancing down the hallway. "Giggles! You alr..." He trailed off as he saw a burnt body where Giggles had been standing only moment before, incinerated the very instant the bombs started exploding.

"We need to get out." Flippy said.

Beneath them, with fire growing within, the building shook as it began to crumble apart.

* * *

Rager rolled to his feet as suddenly a far-off building on the horizon disappeared with an ear-splitting bang, and a firey splash. Before Rager could fully comprehand the starburst, he was struck with a wild blow to the side of the head, sending him sprawling. The Butcher eased himself to his feet, staring at the now-burning hospital with an almost-childish-like expression of glee on his face. He laughed, a triumphant, echoing laugh, pointing at the inferno far off with a hand.

"See that? Look at that! That is, if I may say so myself, beautiful. Most definately a work of art."

Rager replied, not with words, but with a sharp kick to the side f the Butcher's knee from his position on the ground. The Butcher stumbled, and Rager quickly pounced, tackling the Butcher to the ground. Before The Butcher could comprehend this, Rager was quickly unloading with hard lefts and rights into the Butcher's face, a fury never quite seen before in his eyes. The Butcher involuntarily cried out, his nose shattering under the force of one particularly heavy blow. Blood spewed forth from his nose, The Butcher, thinking on his feet, did the simplest efense he could think of.

He avoided one punch, and jammed his thumb into Rager's left eye socket.

Thin, gooey tentrils of blood quickly began pouring out of Rager's eye, who quickly leapt back before his eye could be ripped out. The Butcher rolled to his feet, quickly manning a battle stance as one hand closed around his holstered combat knife. With blood slowly steaming out his left eye, Rager snatched up his police issue pistol, quickly aiming it and pulling the trigger.

By sheer luck, the first bullet missed The Butched by an inch.

The second bullet, however, tore off his right ear.

By then The Butcher had attacked, barely aware he was now missing an ear, and slashed the knife at Rager, who stepped back just a second too late. The gun cluttered out of his hands, thankfully taking the brunt f the slash, but The Butcher is if anything, relentless. He quickly kneed Rager hard in the stomach, before grabbing him by the hair and throwing him at the police cruiser windshield. Rager's back thudded against the windshield, shattering the plexiglass, and Rager fell across the front seats uncomfortably. Before he could fully recuperate, however, The Butcher lent in through what used to be the windshield and grabbed Rager by the scruff of his neck, the knife ready in the other.

Either by luck, or sheer instinct, Rager stomped down on the gas pedal.

The car suddenly rocketed forward, and The Butcher lost his grip on the knife in the surprise. Seizing the chance, Rager punched The Butcher in the side of the neck, stunning him temporarily. With his radio pinning the accelerator to the floor, the car was gaining speed at an astounding pace. Rager threw another punch, this one sinking into The Butcher's stomach. The Butcher let out a painful groan, very nearly slipping off the hood and into the speeding tires. When Rager tried for another punch, The Butcher managed to catch this one, and throw Rager out onto the hood with him. With the wind whipping at them and the driverless car speeding down the dirt road, Rager tried to find grip on the slippery hood, but The Butcher hit him with something long and hard - Rager's own police baton. The blow caught Rager in the jaw, and he fell backwards, nearly off the hood and into the speeding tires below, saving himself only by grabbing the hood ornament. His legs dangling beheath him, Rager pulled himself up, but The Butcher shent out a sharp kick, crushing Rager's fingers against the ornament. Rager's grip faltered, and The Butcher kicked again, the ornamanet now bending at an unsafe angle.

"This is how your story ends, Officer Rager!" The Butcher bellowed above the winds. "Failiure! I'll be sure to attend your funeral, if only to make sure you're dead!"

Then, before Rager could retort, the Butcher unleashed a last, powerful kick, breaking the hood ornament and subsequently Rager's grip, sending the last remaining police officer over the hood of his own speeding cruiser.

Rager fell right into the path of the speeding tires, having only a split seconds worth of panic before the front right tyre sped over, and subsequently crushed, his ribcage. The rear tyre doubled the damage, and Rager tumbled to a stop on the dirt ground, with a bloodied eye, bruised body, and a caved-in chest.

And that is how Officer Rager of the Broadshore Island Police Force spent his last few seconds on earth. With a body boken and mangled beyond repair, Rager breathed out sharply, his eyes wide, before finally, he relaxed as death overtook him.


End file.
